Everybody’s favorite container ship is back in the news this week. That’s right — the Ever Given is finally getting the repairs it needs after it spent almost a week lodged in the side of the Suez Canal back in March.
You remember the Even Given, right? It was the behemoth of a container ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal for six days. Who could forget? Millions around the globe witnessed the debacle as various attempts were made to free the ship and rescue one of the most important global shipping routes.
The ship was eventually freed but was later held by local authorities over the incident. In July, Ever Given’s owners and the Suez Canal Authority finally struck a compensation agreement, and it was allowed to set sail once again.
Once free, the Ever Given headed to Rotterdam in The Netherlands and Felixstowe in the UK to offload its months-old cargo. Then, it began to limp its way back to China.
This week, the vessel finally arrived at dry dock in Qingdao, China, where it will receive the essential work needed to repair its bow, hull and stern.
The bow, which was lodged in the banks of the Suez Canal for six days, appears bashed and crumpled in photos of the ship in dry dock.
On Twitter, maritime historian and Campbell University professor Sal Mercogliano explained the damages and the repair work that would be carried out.
In a series of tweets, he said:
“I talked with someone involved and the plan is to cut the bow off, including the thrusters. They have three replacement modules ready to go for Ever Given. They will inspect for hull damage.
“Due to the ship’s size, this is considered minor repair. It was referred to as a ‘nose job’.”
In a video explaining the process of repairing the Ever Given, Mercogliano said that the majority of the ship’s damage was to its bulbous bow module and the area around its bow thrusters, as well as to the rudder and propellor.
The process of cutting away the damaged bow and replacing it with newly-fabricated pieces, he said, was an efficient way of repairing the ship.
He added that it was “absolutely incredible” that Ever Given was able to survive the damage. But he explained that as the repair work would mostly be carried out at the vessel’s front end, it constituted a relatively “minor” fix.
The Ever Given is operated by shipping line Evergreen Marine. However the company does not own the vessel. So, according to financial papers it released earlier this year, Evergreen Marine has no financial responsibility to cover the cost of the repairs.
The brunt of this work will instead fall to Japanese ship owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha Limited, which owns the vessel and leases it to Evergreen Marine.
As well as the cost of repairs to the vessel, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Limited is also expecting to be hit with various legal suits as a result of the calamity.