Breaking News :Suez Canal Blocked by Stranded Japanese-Owned Container Ship

TOKYO  from our correspondant : Dr.Nour El Nahas

A large container ship owned by a Japanese company ran aground in the Suez Canal in Egypt on Tuesday, blocking traffic on the key marine transportation route between Asia and Europe.

The 400-meter-long and 59-meter-wide Ever Given is believed to have been stuck due to poor visibility caused by bad weather and a sandstorm, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

Since Wednesday, local authorities have been working to refloat the ship by using eight tugboats.

It is expected to take a while before the canal is fully reopened, raising concerns that international distribution of goods may be held up, sources familiar with the situation said.

The 400-metre, 224,000-tonne Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday morning after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement, threatening to disrupt global shipments for days.

GAC, a Dubai-based marine services company, said authorities were still working to free the ship mid-afternoon on Wednesday, and that information it had received earlier claiming the vessel was partially refloated was inaccurate.

The ship’s owner, Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, and its insurers could face claims from the SCA for loss of revenue and from other ships whose passage has been disrupted, insurers and brokers said.

“All roads lead back to the vessel,” said David Smith, head of marine at insurance broker McGill and Partners.

Shoei Kisen could not be reached for comment.

Container ships of this size are likely insured for hull and machinery damage of $100-140 million, insurance sources say. The ship was insured in the Japanese market, two of the sources said.

The cost of the salvage operation is also borne by the hull and machinery insurer.

“It is potentially the world’s biggest ever container ship disaster without a ship going bang,” one shipping lawyer, who declined to be named, said.

Martijn Schuttevaer, spokesman for Dutch marine services company Boskalis, told Reuters its subsidiary Smit Salvage had been hired to help with the operation. A team of around 10 people is heading to Egypt.

SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES

In addition, owners of the cargo on board the ship and on other ships stuck in the Canal will likely claim from the ship’s liability insurer for losses to perishable goods or missed delivery deadlines, the sources said.

“If you have a constant build-up of ships, there are massive supply chain issues,” said Marcus Baker, global head, marine and cargo at insurance broker Marsh.

Masaei Kisen (Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture), which owns the vessel in an accident that caused a large container ship to run aground in Egypt’s northeastern Suez Canal, issued a comment on Thursday apologizing, saying it was “sorry for the great concern caused to the people involved in the ship that is scheduled to sail while sailing along the Suez Canal.” As a result of the accident, two containerships of Ocean Network Express (ONE), a liner company that integrates the containership business of NYK, MOL, and Kawasaki Kisen, were forced to wait on the Mediterranean side in front of the canal, causing delays in operations.

According to The Singe Kisen, there were no casualties in the 25 Indians on the crew. Work is continuing to move the stranded large ship using tugboats and heavy machinery, but the bow part has eaten into the shore and has not been rescued, and as of the 25th, it has not been restored. It is said that there has been no confirmed accident in which oil spills from the ship.

The stranded container ship is about 400 meters long operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine. After entrusting crew arrangements to the ship management company, Serei Kisen has signed a charter contract to lease the ship to the operating company. A person in charge of The Serei Kisen said, “We want to move the ship and start repairing it as soon as possible.”

The 220,000-ton ship, built in 2018, is owned by Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, and operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp

スエズ運河大型船座礁　日本のコンテナ船２隻に遅延影響

エジプト北東部のスエズ運河で大型コンテナ船が座礁した事故で、船舶を所有する「正栄汽船」（愛媛県今治市）は２５日、「スエズ運河を航行中、航行予定の船舶の関係者に多大な心配をかけ申し訳ない」と陳謝するコメントを発表した。事故の影響で、日本郵船、商船三井、川崎汽船のコンテナ船事業を統合した定期コンテナ船会社「オーシャン・ネットワーク・エクスプレス（ＯＮＥ）」のコンテナ船２隻が運河手前の地中海側で待機を余儀なくされ、運航に遅延が出始めている。

　正栄汽船によると、乗組員のインド人２５人に死傷者はいないという。座礁した大型船をタグボートや重機を使って移動させる作業が続いているが、船首部分が岸に食い込

んで抜け出せず、２５日時点で復旧の目途はたっていない。船から油が流出する事故は確認されていないとしている。

　座礁したのは台湾のエバーグリーン・マリンが運航する全長約４００メートルのコンテナ船。正栄汽船は船舶管理会社に乗組員の手配などを委託した上で、運航会社に船舶を貸し出す用船契約を結んでいる。正栄汽船の担当者は「船を移動させ早急に修理に取り掛かりたい」と話した。

Refrence : Yahoo Japan News