The head of the Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, announced, on Monday, the return of navigation traffic in the Suez Canal from both sides, more than six days after the suspension of movement due to the delinquency of a huge container tanker, and confirmed that more than 100 ships would cross the canal in less than a day.
Rabie said, "We will work around the clock to end the congestion. It is planned that 113 ships from both sides will cross the canal from 6 pm until 8 am Tuesday morning," indicating that within three and a half days the congestion may be completed for the ships that have been suspended in recent days due to the delinquency of the container carrier. Huge.
Rabei considered that the crisis was ended in record time and with great success, "with the preservation of the ship and its cargo, without any loss of life or injuries, as well as without oil leakage," noting that dealing with the crisis was difficult, "and there were many challenges opposite to our hopes."
He pointed out that no ship stuck in the canal changed its route, "No ship can leave the waiting area without permission from us. The only request was this morning from three ships carrying cattle because of the difficulty of waiting more than that for them, and we told them that we will issue them permission, but the matter is." Today will come. Indeed, they waited. These ships were the first to pass through the canal by opening it again. "
He added that such a crisis could have taken about three months to be resolved in any channel other than Suez, expressing his thanks to the authority’s workers for their dedication to work.
He said, "President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called me on the first day and told me that the reputation of Egypt and the channel is in your hands, and I in turn conveyed these words to the Authority's workers, who were up to the challenge."
- Compensation and losses
Rabei expressed the authority's determination to grant incentives or discounts to ships stranded due to the crisis, "They are our clients, they were late and they were harmed. We have the intention, but we are currently studying (options), because it will not be equal, as some ships are delayed for one day and other ships are disrupted for six days."
Rabie revealed that the authority estimated its daily loss due to the crisis between 12 to 15 million dollars per day.
Regarding who will bear the compensation, delay and loss of the authority, Rabie said, "The ship is now in the lakes to inspect it, and also to investigate the accident, and based on the investigations, the issue of compensation will be discussed."
- The cause of the ship's delinquency
Rabei renewed his prediction regarding the cause of the ship’s stranding, saying: “The ship’s load or wind was not the only factor. Part of the causes are for the wind, part of it is personal mistakes and part of it is technical. The investigation will settle the responsibility.”
Rabei confirmed that investigations are underway to ascertain the cause of the ship’s delinquency, in addition to examining the ship itself and its operational history to ensure that it is free from any technical errors.
Rabih attributed his analysis to that the wind speed was 40 knots at the time of the accident, but in March last year the wind speed was 55 knots, and ships were crossing the canal normally, and there were two senior guides on board who were known for their competence and experience.
Rabie ruled out the theory and presentation of the large cargo of the ship, saying: "This ship was carrying 223 thousand tons, but ships with a tonnage of 245 thousand tons passed through the canal before that, and this same ship crossed the Suez Canal before that."
- Avoid repeating the scenario in the future
And about whether there was a deficiency that led to the delay in resolving the crisis, he said, "The capabilities are there, as is evidence that we succeeded in solving it, but only we need to expand and increase our capabilities."
"Of course, we will increase our capabilities, our locomotives, and our dredgers (earth bulldozers). Instead of having a locomotive with a capacity of 160 tons, we will need a locomotive with a towing capacity of 250 tons," he added.
"We only used two locomotives from abroad, specifically from Italy, and we did not use them," he said.
He pointed out that the Abdul Hamid Youssef and Mustafa Mahmoud cracks were used completely in the Suez arsenal, and it was their first practical use and the first test in this crisis, and they succeeded remarkably.
The container ship "MV Evergiven" had stopped in the width of the Suez Canal last Tuesday morning and closed it completely, which disrupted navigation in both directions.
MV Evergiven, 400 meters long and 59 meters wide, with a gross payload of 224,000 tons, was on a journey from China to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
The disruption of navigation led to traffic congestion in the canal and the formation of a long queue, which caused severe delays in the deliveries of oil and other products.
As a result, oil prices fell on global markets, after the ship was fully floated, while a meeting of OPEC producers is expected on Thursday.
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