A rock under the boat poses a source problem. Preparations to tranship some of the containers. The Authority which operates the canal evokes compensation. 369 ships now stranded because of the container ship. A cost of $ 14-15 million per day.
ISAMILIA, Egypt, March 28 (Reuters) – Crews were busy removing sand from the sand and towing the giant container ship stranded in the Suez Canal but their efforts are hampered by a rock under the ship’s hull, two sources reported.
Dredgers trying to free the ship have already cleared 27,000 cubic meters of sand to a depth of 18 meters and efforts will continue throughout the day taking into account the wind and tides, explained the Authority. of the Suez Canal (ACS), which operates the shipping lane, in a statement.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered that preparations be made to tranship some of the 18,3000 containers carried by the ship, ACS President Osama Rabie told Egyptian television channel Extra News.
Any operation to lighten the load on the ship will not start until Monday, however, said a source within ACS.
Under the effect of strong winds, the MV Ever Given, 400 meters long, was placed more than five days ago diagonally from the southern section of the canal and planted its bow in the sand, disrupting traffic on one of the most traveled routes in the world.
At least 369 boats are waiting to be able to cross the canal, Osama Rabie said, including container ships, bulk carriers, tankers and ships carrying liquefied natural gas.
The penalized carriers could be offered discounts, Osama Rabie said, while believing that the investigation should show that the canal is not responsible for the immobilization of the vessel.
“There are positive signals from yesterday and the day before,” the official said on Egyptian state television.
“The rudder was not moving and now it is moving, the propeller is working now, there was no water at the bow of the ship and now there is and yesterday there was a deviation of four meters at the bow and the stern, ”he added.
Two sources within ACS, however, indicated that a rock mass had been discovered at the front of the boat, complicating the efforts of rescue teams. (With Omar Fahmy and Momen Saeed Atallah in Cairo, French version Gwénaëlle Barzic)
