![]() Egypt welcomed world leaders to a grand ceremony marking the reopening of the new canal channel in 2015, amid a wave of nationalist fervour about the project. It cost $8bn after the Egyptian dictator demanded the project be completed within a year, promising Egyptian citizens that it would prove to be an “artery of prosperity”. ![]() Its role as a cornerstone of international trade, particularly in oil, led the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, to announce an expansion of the vital waterway in 2014, a project promised as “a gift to the world”. Gen Ossama Rabei, head of the Suez Canal Authority, second right, speaks to other staff onboard a boat near the stuck cargo ship. The variables on board are the software and the personnel.” “Ships are machines run by propulsion engines with rudders that are almost identical in all vessels. “The force generated by the wind would have unintentionally altered the heading of the vessel,” he said.īut he added that human error may also have been a factor since ships traverse the canal in convoys and none of the vessels behind the Ever Given had run into similar troubles. The accident was probably due in part to strong winds that turned the containers above deck into a vast sail that blew the vessel off course, said Jamil Sayegh, a former captain and maritime law specialist with experience navigating the canal. Seven vessels carrying 6.3m barrels of crude oil were among those unable to pass, the research firm Kpler said, with another three carrying an additional 2.5m barrels scheduled to try to make the passage by the end of the week. The Ever Given against a Suez sandbank Photograph: Suez canal/AFP/Getty ImagesĮgyptian forecasters said high winds and a sandstorm hit the area on Tuesday, with winds gusting as much as 31mph.īSM said all crew were safe and accounted for, and there had been no reports of injuries or pollution.Ī growing number of tankers were gathering near the entrance to the canal on Wednesday morning waiting to pass through. ![]()
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