International Maritime Organization appreciates Egyptian efforts to refloat MV Ever Given

CAIRO -27 March 2020: The International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Kitack Lim said Friday the IMO has been closely monitoring the incident involving the MV Ever Given, which ran aground in the Suez Canal on March 23.

"I offer my encouragement to the Egyptian Authorities, as well as the salvors, tug and dredger operators and all other parties, who are working tirelessly to safely refloat the ship and resume transit through one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes as soon as possible," Kitack said. "I appreciate the efforts of every individual involved."

"I am aware of the implications of the temporary closure of the canal, and I ask for patience from stakeholders across the supply chain as everyone works to ensure that the ship, its crew, its cargo and the environment remain protected."

"I look forward to receiving information from the investigation into the incident so that IMO can act on any appropriate recommendations derived from the findings," the IMO Secretary-General added.

The Ever Given ship, 400 meters long, 59 meters wide, and with a capacity of 224,000 tons ran aground due to bad weather and sandstorm and wedged diagonally across the canal since March 24, 2021. Being stranded in the canal, the Ever Given ship resulted in the suspension of the international maritime trade through the canal.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced on Friday resuming efforts to re-float the ship, using 9 gigantic tugboats, including "Baraka 1" and "Izzat Adel", after the completion of the dredging work near the vessel’s bow using "Mashhour" dredge.

SCA chairperson Lieutenant General Osama Rabei explained that the tugging process requires several factors, including the wind direction and the tidal state, which makes it a ‘complex technical process’ with very unique procedures and multiple attempts.

In a previous statement earlier Friday, SCA announced dredging 17,000 cubic meters of sand and mud by Mashhour dredger around the Ever Given ship’s bow, with a rate of dredging reached about 87 percent.