Suez Canal: reinforcements arrive for 'Ever Given' including giant tugs from Italy and Holland

After failed attempts to refloat the ship, new tugs will add up to 500 tonnes of pulling power to the effort

Two more tugboats were on their way on Sunday to join efforts to refloat a massive container ship wedged across the Suez Canal since last week, blocking traffic in the vital trade route and disrupting global trade.

The Dutch-flagged Alp Guard and the Italian-flagged Carlo Magno are believed to have arrived near the city of Suez at the southern mouth of the Suez Canal.

The two tugs have a combined pulling power of almost 500 tonnes.

They will join a dozen other tug boats that have been involved in efforts, unsuccessful so far, to refloat the ship.

Sunday was expected to witness two attempts coinciding with tides to free the Panama-flagged, 400-metre-long Ever Given, the first about midday and a second time in the evening.

Repeated failures to refloat the 200,000-tonne vessel are likely to force the Suez Canal Authority, which manages the waterway, to resort to offloading the vessel, which is carrying 18,300 containers.

The stranded container ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, after it ran aground in Suez Canal, Egypt. Reuters

The stranded container ship Ever Given after it ran aground in Suez Canal. Reuters

A tugboat by the Panama-flagged MV Ever Given container ship. AFP

Tugboats by the Panama-flagged MV Ever Given. AFP

Tugboats by the Panama-flagged MV Ever Given. AFP

The Ever Given container ship which ran aground in the Suez Canal, Egypt. EPA

Ever Given container ship is pictured in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image. Reuters

A view of the earth moving equipment excavating sand near the bow of the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image. Reuters

A view of the dredging operations which continue near the Ever Given container ship in Suez Canal in this Maxar Technologies satellite image. Reuters

Egyptian officials oversee the operation to free Taiwan-owned cargo MV Ever Given after it become stuck in the Suez Canal. AFP

Egyptian officials oversee the operation to free Taiwan-owned cargo MV Ever Given after it become stuck in the Suez Canal. AFP

Egyptian tug boats try to free the ship. AFP

Egyptian tug boats try to free the ship. AFP

Egyptian tug boats try to free the ship. AFP

The ship is shown lodged sideways. AFP

All movement in the canal comes to a standstill. AFP

A satellite image of the Ever Given. AP

A satellite image of the Ever Given. AP

Stranded container ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, is seen after it ran aground, in Suez Canal, Egypt in this still image taken from a video. Reuters

Egypt's Suez Canal authorities are redirecting shipping traffic on Wednesday after a 200,000-tonne container ship 'MV Ever Given' ran aground and blocked the canal's main channel. Reuters

Recovery teams are surveying the 'MV Ever Given', which ran aground in the Suez Canal on Tuesday as it headed for the Mediterranean after leaving the Red Sea. Its destination is Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Reuters

Lt Gen Osama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, second right, assesses the 'MV Ever Given' from the bridge of a cutter. AP Photo

This satellite image from Planet Labs shows the cargo ship 'MV Ever Given', stuck in the Suez Canal. AP Photo

This satellite image from Planet Labs shows the cargo ship 'MV Ever Given', grounded in the Suez Canal since Tuesday. AP

That delicate operation could take days to complete and will probably involve container ships equipped with suitable cranes.

“It is our last resort scenario,” the Suez Canal Authority's chief, Adm Osama Rabie, told a news conference on Saturday.

For now, hopes are pinned on the power of the two additional tugs as dredging operations continue, sucking sand from underneath the vessel.

In a statement issued on Sunday, he said the latest attempt to refloat the vessel on Saturday involved 12 tugboats, two pulling the front of the ship and 10 more pushing its rear southward.

Two new tugboats being built in a shipyard at Port Said, the coastal city on the northern tip of the canal, were due to join the effort. He did not give a precise date.

Also on Sunday, he said the main dredger has so far removed 27,000 cubic metres of sand, reaching a depth of 18 metres.

Workers have removed thousands of tonnes of ballast from the Ever Given and brought in more tugboats in an expanding effort to refloat the ship.

Adm Rabieh said 9,000 tonnes of ballast water were pumped out to lighten the vessel.

Fourteen tugboats, as well as dredgers, are now part of the operation and they could look to unload some weight off the vessel if the current efforts are not successful, Adm Rabieh said.

“We have to deal with difficult soil and strong tides in addition to the size of the boat, its height and the large number of containers it is carrying,” he said.

He declined to give a timetable for the refloating of the vessel.

“It is very difficult to give a precise time for resolving the problem,” he said.

In the meantime, ships continue to arrive at either end of the canal, waiting to pass.

Adm Rabieh said 321 ships were stuck in the canal and its lakes. He announced the closure of the waterway on Thursday.

The Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday in a narrow stretch of the canal just north of the city of Suez after it was blown off course by strong winds during a sandstorm. Two pilots from the canal authority were on board the Ever Given when it became stuck.

Initially, authorities and the operator said wind and a sandstorm pushed the ship off course and into the side of the canal.

However, Adm Rabieh on Saturday said that bad weather was not the only cause of the Ever Given running aground and that technical or human error could have contributed.

“When it comes to big accidents like this one, there is always more than one cause. The investigation could reveal a human error or a technical fault,” said Adm Rabieh. No formal investigation into how the accident occurred will begin before the ship is refloated and traffic returns to normal, he said.

Besides the Dutch-based Smit International, Japan’s Nippon Salvage is also participating in the refloating effort.

Canal authorities say nearly 20,000 cubic metres of sand must be dredged from around the ship for it to move.

At a press conference in Japan on Friday, Yukito Higaki, president of Shoei Kisen, which owns the Ever Given, said there were no signs of damage to its engines and instruments.

"The ship is not taking water. There is no problem with its rudders and propellers. Once it refloats, it should be able to operate," Mr Higaki said, according to Asahi Shimbun.

The blockage of the Suez, which links the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, has left hundreds of ships on both ends of the trade route waiting to pass through.

Some of those that were not already in the canal when the Ever Given ran aground are opting to take the much longer route around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope to Europe or Asia.

However, Adm Rabieh said the current crisis would not take away the edge of the Suez Canal as the shortest and more economic route between Asia and Europe.

“The route around the Cape of Good is not safe,” he said, alluding to piracy off the eastern coast of Africa.

The effect of delays has doubled shipping costs for oil-related products since the ship ran aground, experts said.

The blockage could cost global trade between $6 billion and $10bn a week, a study by German insurer Allianz showed on Friday.

"The problem is that the Suez Canal blockage is the straw that breaks global trade's back," the study's authors wrote.

Suez Canal crisis from space: shipping backlog in satellite images

The 'Ever Given' container ship blocked the Suez Canal for six days. Reuters

The ship became grounded during high winds. Airbus Space

The incident cost the Suez Canal Authority up to $15 million in revenue. Airbus Space

Left, the canal on March 21; right, traffic waits to enter the canal on March 25. Reuters

Vessels wait to pass through the canal after the 'Ever Given' ran aground. Airbus Space

The incident caused a queue of vessels at the mouth of the canal. Airbus Space

It took six days to free the 'Ever Given'. Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation

An image captured by the European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite shows the canal during the blockage. Reuters

The 200,000-tonne cargo ship caused damage to the vital waterway. Reuters

Egypt initially claimed $900m in compensation over the incident. Reuters

An image captured from a commercial plane shows traffic waiting to travel through the canal. AFP

The 'Ever Given' will be released by the Egyptian authorities on Wednesday. AFP

The 'Ever given' was stuck for six days and caused damage to the canal. AFP

The blockage cost the canal authority millions of dollars because cargo ships were unable to pass. AFP