Transportation

The Ever Given was freed with the help of the Mashhour, a huge dredging ship that moves 70,000 cubic feet of sand an hour

Ever Given Skitch
The Mashhour dredger removing sand from around the stuck Ever Given ship in the Suez Canal. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/Business Insider
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The massive container ship that spent days wedged in the Suez Canal was freed Monday with the help of a huge dredging ship that can shift more than 70,000 cubic feet of sand an hour.

The Ever Given was stuck across the canal for six days, blocking one of the world's busiest trade routes and causing a huge and costly backlog in both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Key to the eventual success dislodging it was a huge dredger called Mashhour, which started working Thursday to remove sand from around the ship.

The below painting shows what it looks like:

And this photo shows it in action:

ever given suez canal
The Ever Given.  Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the technical manager of the Ever Given, said the dredger could shift 2,000 cubic meters of material an hour — more than 70,000 cubic feet.

This video shows the Mashhour's crew celebrating after the Ever Given was freed:

 

Osama Rabie, the Suez Canal Authority chief, said the Mashhour did most of the dredging work around the Ever Given. Its work, he said, was what allowed tugboats to start their efforts to move the ship.

Other, smaller dredgers that could get closer to the Ever Given were also used. Combined they vacuumed up 27,000 cubic meters of sand and mud around the ship, the Associated Press reported.

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Sinéad Baker
Sinéad Baker is a Military and Defense Correspondent based in Business Insider's London bureau, writing about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and NATO actions.Sinéad most often covers soldiers' experiences, military strategy, battlefield developments, weapons systems, the defense industry's response, and the impact on NATO and European security, and geopolitical decisions that surround the Ukraine war. She has reported from NATO’s frontlines and around Europe,  has interviewed multiple prime ministers and defense ministers, has appeared on BBC News and The Guardian's politics podcast, and has been cited by Congressional hearings.Sinéad has also extensively covered US politics and previously led Business Insider's breaking news coverage from London.Sinéad previously completed a master's degree in investigative journalism at City, University of London, and has written for The Guardian, The Observer, and TheJournal.ie. Sinéad is the former editor of the multi-award-winning The University Times in Dublin.Expertise
  • Experiences of soldiers in Ukraine, including battlefield developments and tactics
  • Western military responses to the war, and lessons they should learn
  • New weaponry built for and in response to the war 
Email Sinéad at sbaker@jkmperu.com or find her on X.