On March 23, a large container ship “Ever Given” ran aground in the Suez Canal. The cause was initially believed to be strong winds in the middle of the canal. However, authorities said the cause could be a technical defect or human error. The ship’s stranding resulted in a continued logistical paralysis of the Suez Canal. Until regular operation resumed, many ships chose to dock nearby or run around the Cape of Good Hope.
After much effort, including the U.S. Navy’s deployment to normalize the blocked canal, it succeeded in rescuing the Ever Given at high tide using 14 tugboats on March 29. About 400 ships, which had been stagnant, began passage at 19:00 on the 29th. Due to the congestion at the Suez Canal, through which a large number of ships routinely move around the world, it has had a significant impact on global logistics and the economy. In the wake of this accident, international oil prices rose more than 6%, and 400 million USD were lost every hour the ship was aground.
The blame battle for the damage caused by the Suez Canal accident is becoming very fierce. An Egyptian court ordered the owner of the stranded Ever Given to pay about $916 million. However, the Ever Given has been seized due to the failure of the shipping company to pay compensation. The Egyptian court ruled that the shipowner and insurance company filed an unfair lawsuit against the seizure, but it was rejected.
