Find government COVID 19 information at https://sacoronavirus.co.za
Home
FacebookTwitterSearchMenu
  • Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • News
  • Features
  • Knowledge Library
  • Columns
  • Customs
  • Jobs
  • Directory
  • FX Rates
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Send us news
Imports and Exports
Other
Sea Freight

‘Container offloading could have alleviated Suez crisis’

06 Apr 2021 - by Eugene Goddard
 Source: Mei@75
0 Comments

Share

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • E-mail
  • Print

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) was warned that it should be technically equipped for ship-to-shore response readiness back in 2013, three years before a 12 500-TEU container ship, the MSC Fabiola, got stuck in the Egyptian waterway.

That a similar incident since the 2016 logjam was allowed to happen again when the much bigger 20 388-TEU Ever Given ran aground on March 23, blocking the important ocean link for almost a week, highlights industry claims that the SCA is perhaps not adequately addressing canal concerns.

Michael Kingston, who advises the United Nations International Maritime Organisation on related matters, was quoted by a news source as saying last month’s incident reiterated the necessity for offloading vessels getting stuck in the Suez.

Renowned for flagging the necessity of weight reduction since 2013, the ocean freight consultant has again stressed that the best way to refloat a ship is to move boxes off a stricken vessel.

Yet, in the case of the Ever Given, as was the case with the Fabiola, the SCA “had no way of doing it. No equipment was readily available”.

Kingston is not alone in maintaining the view that the Suez ought to have moveable offloading capacity along the northern and southern channels of the canal.

Speaking to the same news source, marine insurance veteran Peter Townsend said container vessels had been getting bigger and bigger while the ability to work these behemoths, especially in times of emergency, had lagged behind.

What had happened with the Ever Given, he said, showed that an authority such as the SCA should give serious consideration to offloading a 20-storey-high vessel during exceptional circumstances.

The SCA, however, believes it’s pulling out all the stops to prevent a repeat of the March logjam.

With a new tugboat coming in this week, another to be delivered in August, and the biggest dredger from the Mediterranean expected to commence draught work on the channel soon, the authority says the Suez will be secure against any further possible disruption.

It’s also mooting stepped-up transit guidelines, such as tugboat escorts and prohibiting super-size vessels from passing through at night.

It maintains though that it’s perfectly capable of handling ships like the Ever Given, even in inclement weather.

This is in spite of extreme wind and subsequent swells exacerbating the vessel’s steering issues, causing it to shift sideways while heading north in the canal’s southern channel.

What’s new in technology in the freight industry?

Logistics
16 Apr 2021
0 Comments

New guidelines to fight scourge of drug trafficking by sea

Sea Freight
16 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Marine biofuel trial involving ocean-going vessel undertaken

Other
16 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Namibia and Botswana ban poultry imports from SA

Africa
16 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Truckers urged to claim lost licences at Beitbridge

Africa
16 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Ramaphosa says Durban port has become more efficient

Africa
16 Apr 2021
0 Comments

SAA appoints new interim CEO

Africa
16 Apr 2021
0 Comments

New logistics park opens in Maputo

Africa
15 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Leaders asked to keep cool heads while addressing earth warming

Africa
15 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Hapag-Lloyd orders 150 000 TEUs of standard and reefer containers

Logistics
15 Apr 2021
0 Comments

El Al to resume SA flights

Africa
15 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Lesotho set to speed up air cargo clearance

Africa
15 Apr 2021
0 Comments

President Ramaphosa to visit Port of Durban today

Africa
15 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Ever Given impounded as penalties dispute remains unresolved

Imports and Exports
14 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Gulf of Guinea remains world piracy hotspot

Africa
14 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Ghana ports get serious about automation

Africa
14 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Covid-19-themed cyberattacks surge

COVID-19
14 Apr 2021
0 Comments

NZ port employees stage a walkout over Covid fears

COVID-19
14 Apr 2021
0 Comments

Research debunks theory that bigger vessels reduce schedule reliability

Other
14 Apr 2021
0 Comments

DSVDirect puts power in customer’s hands

Logistics
14 Apr 2021
0 Comments
  • More

FeatureClick to view

Technology April 2021

Border Beat

BORDER BEAT: Truck driver shot at Beitbridge succumbs to head wound
12 Apr 2021
BORDER BEAT: Yet more complaints of crime at Beitbridge
07 Apr 2021
Transporters not part of Botswana’s Covid-curbing measures for Easter
31 Mar 2021
More

Poll

Would you prefer to continue working from home post-Covid?

Yes (34%)
No (21%)
A home/office hybrid (45%)

Featured Jobs

New

Senior Multi-Modal Controller

Blue Oak Personnel
East Rand
16 Apr
More Jobs
  • © Now Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Freight News RSS
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Send us news
  • Contact us