Tugboats are the best
Watch: Ships blow their horns moments after #EverGiven is re-floated, almost one week after it had blocked the #SuezCanal. https://t.co/PmPvRx2o5B pic.twitter.com/YsaPSDWYQH
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 29, 2021
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I like to think that all those horns are going off in joyful celebration and are the equivalent of teammates giving high-fives at a victory, as opposed to going off in pent-up frustration and being the equivalent of motorists giving the finger in a traffic jam.
I have noticed in a couple of videos of the Ever Given that she has a slight list (leaning) to port (or the Left side). This might be due to the shifting of ballast water. Now free, it should be drydocked and inspected before returning to full service. Slight problem: I cannot think of a drydock big enough until the ship reaches Taiwan, South Korea or Japan. India, Singapore or Malaysia don’t have docks that big. (A post grounding-inspection is compulsory for vessels on several registered surveyors T&C, such as Lloyds, and many flag states). However this is an Evergreen ship, so more likely they will send divers and internal tank inspection (and that takes time, and a lot of work before and after). And quietly ‘lose’ the paperwork….and carry on as if nothing happened…
I also wondered what has, or will, happen to the pilots and ship’s Master? And should they have transited at all, if the high wind and low visibility made it so risky? Did commercial pressures and canal authorities play a part? The investigation into this one will run for months. If past experience is anything to go by, the canal pilots and agencies will refuse to take the blame. Lots of money will change hands and the corruption in the canal will continue unchallenged.
In a few few weeks, what are the odds that the name Ever Given will disappear? Merchant ships can change names several times during their lifespan. Several companies quietly renamed ships to hide mishaps or new routes, charter or just pretend they had a newer ship.
However, credit must go to the salvage operation team, Boskalis and the tug crews.
So that’s another reason these oversized ships are such a brilliant idea – no drydocks big enough for them on most of their route! Genius!
And these floating disasters are always registered in Panama or Liberia. So that international safety standards can be ignored. A floating patch of rust and oil can be ‘registered’ in those places. Rather like all those bogus U.S. corporations registered in Delaware.
For real. I regularly walk past the grain terminal at the bottom of the hill from here, and the ship currently taking on grain when I do is always registered in one of those “no regulations here!” places.