Tug teamwork refloats Ever Given

Svitzer contributed to the six-day operation to free the 20,000 TEU Evergreen-operated Ever Gven with two tugs and four full crews operating in shifts, spanning some 20 people. Svitzer’s Port Said 1 and Port Said 2 vessels added to the 13 tugs and two dredgers assisting in the salvage operation, coordinated by the Suez Canal Authority.

Kasper Nilaus, CEO at Svitzer, said: “After six challenging and nerve-wracking days, and with the eyes of the world on all of us, we are extraordinarily proud of the relentless work that our crews onboard Port Said 1 and 2 have done to expedite the refloating of the Ever Given.”

Previous experience

Svitzer’s tugs were deployed from the company’s base in Port Said on 23 March. On arrival, the tugs were deployed at the aft port side, where they pushed to free the vessel for around four hours. Svitzer’s crews were specifically tasked with pushing at this critical part of the vessel because of support provided to the SCA during two previous groundings.

Once it became apparent that more work would be needed to free Ever Given, from Wednesday 24 through to the early hours of Monday 29, Svitzer continued to provide support by pushing the vessel and assisting with refloating trials.

Now that Ever Given has been freed, ship traffic has resumed in the Suez Canal. Port Said 2 is escorting Ever Given back to the Bitter Lakes. Meanwhile, Port Said 1 is towing one of the dredgers that freed Ever Given to the south of the Canal.