The Inside Story of the Ship That Broke Global Trade

The six-day stranding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal last March did something incredibly rare: it made regular people care about shipping, the means by which more than 80% of the world’s goods are transported. It took only one wrong turn for the container ship to bring a critical trading artery to a standstill. This is how a $1 billion worth of cargo got stuck, freed and impounded as the courts took over.

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[igotalottastuff]

“Titanically important problem.”

I like this guy.

[kaantuncer]

As a captain who crossed that waterways many times can honestly say there is a very thin line between safe passage and disasters like this one. If the canal authority puts a legal force that forbids the passage of huge vessels at certain wind force will be relaxing for the captains and pilots but companies will not accept it due to excessive waiting time. Can you blame the captain ? can you blame pilots ? The industry demands swift transaction but nobody takes the responsibility. This is the problem only captains face with. If you decide to wait, company will ask why are you waiting when others proceed. Many others may proceed without problems but one mistake is enough for a disaster. You can not justify yourself unless it is proven by an accident.

[TpoJIb]

"No gifts" I was in the Navy, we traveled through the Suez at least 10 times. All pilots asked for cigarettes, ships ballcaps. We had to setup coffee, muffins - pretty much all sorts of treats. Even saw and heard the driver on the tug screaming: "Gimme Hat". And throughout entire canal voyage there quite a "few" pilots that board the ship.

[mshutube]

While not a captain or vessel operator, I've had constipation before so I can relate to this horrible situation.

[martinlarios]

The Suez Canal pilots are regular beggars, asking mostly for cigarettes, but not one carton, they are very displeased if they only get one carton, the worst part is that no matter how many cartons you give them they continue to hassle the captain for more. I know because I have gone thru the canal many times as ship´s captain; in one occasion I was actually force to take myself to the opposite side of the bridge in order for the pilot to leave me alone. The Egyptians are notoriously avers to admitting fault, so it is not estrange that they deny reports of the shameful behaviour of their pilots, but every captain that has transited the canal knows all too well it is very true.

[dababroad]

Having transited the Suez Canal around 20 times between 1982 and 2005 I can declare that there is no single ‘pilot’ in the canal who leaves a ship without ‘ a gift’. These so called pilots consider themselves supermen. Every captain is glad when he has passed the canal without to much trouble. I am sure every experienced master is more able to pass the canal with his crew than with this corrupt pilots.

[TheNuclearBolton]

“For about a week, the whole world was riveted by shipping.” That was a genius use of words.

[steveobrien]

Been through the canal many times as a ships officer. Reports of pilot demanding bottles, gifts etc are entirely true.

[KusalMunasinghe]

I'm a vessel operator, and most of random people i meet are very surprised of the work we do. People think goods just magically appear on stores :D

[napoleonibonaparte]

The ship that gave us another month’s worth of memes.

[Sirmellowman]

that sounds great, people in charge of driving the largest moving object every created by humans through a tiny canal that dont speak the same language. what could go wrong!

[natcalverley]

This underscores how dangerous just in time delivery is. As companies divested themselves of large warehousing systems we have eliminated the saftey margine of supply reserve in our economies .

[Wompwompwomp.ny]

Ever Green, Ever Given, Ever Grande, I’m noticing a pattern and I don’t like it.

[C.u.d.s]

there are recordings of “professional” pilots arguing and giving commands right before the crash, but the seasoned captain is to blame? Egyptiansare so corrupt the judges have no shame.

[oliviaralston]

You work for 40yrs to have $1M in your
retirement, meanwhile some people are putting just $10K in a meme coin from just few months ago and now they are

[SS-dutr]

Not exactly the "inside story" I was hoping for😕

[MsEverAfterings]

Evergreen is the Taiwanese shipping company that chartered the ship from a Japanese shipowner. MV Ever Given is the name of the vessel. The ship’s name is painted at her bow (front) and aft (back), while the company’s name is emblazoned on her sides.

[sean]

I never really thought about the possibility of the reactive force after dislodging the front. I can only imagine how large those four cables were

[crestfallengooner]

M E, I am addressing you. As a shipmaster you can take it from me that the Suez canal staff are still as demanding, borderline corrupt today as they were in 2007 when a pilot threatened to halt my passage if I did not provide the 'gift(s) to the value he thought fit. "its part of my salary as a pilot" he stated. He boasted that he had stopped a Greek vessel (in Great bitter Lake) two days previously costing it $60, 000. In my case, the pilot didn't receive what he demanded but both I and my ship had our cards marked.

[SpencerGD]

Great report about the Evergreen. Now let's talk about the Evergrande.