• The 'Ever Given' container ship blocked the Suez Canal for six days. Reuters
    The 'Ever Given' container ship blocked the Suez Canal for six days. Reuters
  • The ship became grounded during high winds. Airbus Space
    The ship became grounded during high winds. Airbus Space
  • The incident cost the Suez Canal Authority up to $15 million in revenue. 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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    The 200,000-tonne cargo ship caused damage to the vital waterway. Reuters
  • Egypt initially claimed $900m in compensation over the incident. 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
    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' 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 '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
    The blockage cost the canal authority millions of dollars because cargo ships were unable to pass. AFP

What connects the 'Ever Given', the Suez Canal and 7,200 rubber ducks loose in the Pacific?


  • English
  • Arabic

As the world watches efforts to free the Ever Given, a 200,000-tonne cargo ship stuck sideways in the Suez Canal since Tuesday, few will know its link to another incident that kept the world spellbound.

Evergreen Marine Corporation operates the Ever Given on behalf of the ship's owner Shoei Kisen, which has apologised for blocking one of the world's busiest commercial sea routes.

In January 1992, a ship reportedly operated by Evergreen and owned by a Greek company called Technomar Shipping spilled 28,800 plastic toys into the Pacific Ocean during a storm.

The Ever Laurel arrived in the port of Tacoma in Washington state a day later than scheduled from Hong Kong after reports of heavy storms.

It is thought the boat may have dipped and rolled in large waves, causing a container to slip off into sea.

Donovan Hohn, who wrote Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea about the spill and the fate of the floating creatures, found 7,200 each of plastic red beavers, blue turtles, green frogs and classic yellow rubber ducks were accidentally released into the Pacific.

"For years the identity of the ship was a well-kept secret, but by consulting old shipping schedules published in the Journal of Commerce and preserved on scratched spools of microfiche in a library basement, I, by process of elimination, solved this riddle: the ship was the Evergreen Ever Laurel, owned by a Greek company called Technomar Shipping and operated by the Taiwanese Evergreen Marine Corp," Mr Hohn wrote in an extract of his book printed by The Guardian.

In the years since, oceanographers have used the floating toys, nicknamed friendly floatees, to track currents, giving insight into the world's climate.

The toys have washed up on many far shores, travelling more than 27,360 kilometres by some estimates.

Evergreen now operates a different ship named the Ever Laurel, which was built in 2012.

It travels today between the Far East and South America.

Spills from cargo ships are relatively common in stormy weather.

In December, hundreds of containers were lost from the One Apus when stacks collapsed as it travelled the Pacific north of Hawaii.

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Essentials

The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.

What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

2019 ASIA CUP POTS

Pot 1
UAE, Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia

Pot 2
China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand

Pot 3
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India, Vietnam

Pot 4
North Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Turkmenistan

ESSENTIALS

The flights 
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
 

The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.