Ever Given: Bank Effect Suction, a Supermoon Tide and a $540M Settlement

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On March 23, 2021 the Ever Given, a 224,000-ton ship that can carry about 20,000 containers, was fifth in a northbound convoy through a single-lane stretch of the Suez Canal. It had transited the canal 22 times before. A sandstorm brought winds over 40 knots that pushed against its stacked containers, and the bank effect, a low-pressure zone created as displaced water rushes between hull and bank, pulled the stern toward one side. With two Suez Canal Authority pilots directing the maneuvers, the bow lodged in the eastern bank and the stern in the western bank, blocking roughly 12% of global trade. Between 300 and 400 ships queued, holding about $9.6 billion in goods a day, while the canal lost about $15 million a day in fees.

Royal Boskalis and its subsidiary Smit Salvage led the effort, rejecting container removal as a risk to the hull and instead removing 9,000 tons of ballast and dredging 30,000 cubic meters of sand. The seagoing tugs Alp Guard, with 285 tons of bollard pull, and Carlo Magno joined harbor tugs, and on March 29 a supermoon king tide helped free the ship. One person died during the six-day salvage. Egypt impounded the vessel on April 13 and demanded $1 billion, including $300 million for loss of reputation, while the 25 Indian crew members stayed aboard. A $540 million settlement in July included a new tugboat for Egypt, and the ship left on July 7.

• The cargo queue included 41 bulk carriers, 24 crude oil tankers, a Russian Navy corvette and more than 130,000 Romanian sheep.
• Europe saw a documented shortage of garden gnomes because shipments were stuck behind the ship.
• Ships rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope coordinated with the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet over piracy, and Russia promoted its Northern Sea Route.
• Under general average, cargo owners can be required to share salvage costs, as with a 54% bond after the 2018 Maersk Honam fire.
• The ship was owned by Japan's Shoei Kisen Kaisha, flagged in Panama, operated by Taiwan's Evergreen Marine and managed by a German firm.