Timeline: Chaos on the Suez Canal

TIMELINE CHAOS ON

THE SUEZ CANAL

The week the Suez Canal was blocked will have ramifications for months to come. We chart the seven days 10% of global trade trickled to a stop

MARCH 23rd - 29th

23rd 24th 25th

Suez Canal blocked by the Ever Given

First rescue attempts fail

Navigation of the channel suspended

At day break in Egypt, one of the world’s biggest container ships veers off course and becomes wedged diagonally across the Suez Canal. The Ever Given, a 400 metre, 20,000 TEU vessel, blocks transit and leaves dozens of ships stranded at either end of the canal.

Initial efforts to refloat the Ever Given fail. Tug boats and dredgers try to dig the ship out of the mud and nudge it away from the bank, but make little progress. By this time, more than 100 vessels are piling up, waiting for news.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) officially suspends navigation of the manmade strait “until the floatation works of the large Panamanian container vessel are complete.” The backlog grows by a further 50 ships.

26th 27 th 28th 29th

Costs rise as new plan forms

International recovery teams join the efforts with plans to refloat the Ever Given during the high tide on Saturday evening. Mass dredging down to a depth of 16 metres gets underway. The estimated daily cots of the blockage is $9.5bn.

Race against the clock Full moon reveals end in sight

Recovery teams continue their work around the clock as they race to remove enough soil and sand to float the Ever Given on high tide. Suezbound vessels are now traversing the southern tip of Africa rather than join the logjam in the Mediterranean and Red seas. High tides from a full moon raises hopes that tonight will be the night. Excavation works continue as more tugboats from Europe join the rescue operation. Around 30,000 cubic metres of sand have now been shifted from around the Ever Given’s bow.

FREE AT LAST

Cheers from tugboat and excavation teams ring out between the banks. The Ever Given is confirmed free at 3pm local time, and will soon head to the Bitter Lakes holding area for a full inspection. Officials immediately get to work on the backlog of ships.