After pulling the blocking ship into the Suez Canal last year, the Dutch company Boskalis can once again help lift a stranded ship. This is Ever Forward from shipping company Evergreen, which ran aground earlier this week in the American port city of Baltimore.
Donjon-Smit was called upon to lift the 334-metre container ship. This company is a joint venture between SMIT Salvage, a subsidiary of Boskalis, and its American counterpart Donjon.
Like Ever Given, which ran aground in the Suez Canal last year, Ever Forward is a large container ship. The ship ran aground in Chesapeake Bay on Sunday after leaving Baltimore harbor on the US east coast.
The experts at Donjon-Smit are working together with the American Coast Guard, among others, on a separation plan for ships. The tides and weight of the vessel must be taken into account.
According to a new calendar, this draw should have happened within a few days. Ever Forward is expected on Wednesday in Norfolk, a few hundred miles south of Baltimore. Experts warn that this timeline may be too optimistic.
The situation in the Suez Canal is less problematic than last year
Unlike the Ever Given, the Ever Forward jamming is not a major problem for sea traffic. The Chesapeake Bay is much wider than the Suez Canal and therefore it is possible to sail the stranded container ship.
Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal in March last year, blocking shipping traffic for days. Located on one of the most important maritime routes in the world, the canal creates traffic jams for hundreds of ships on both sides of the canal. Shipping traffic suffered more than this delay for months.
Boskalis was also allowed to do the towage work during this time, which gave the company a big name. He even published a book about it. “I no longer have to explain what Boskalis is,” said CEO Peter Berdowski in an interview with NU.nl.
Source: NU
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.