The Ever Given has finally made its way out of the Suez Canal.
The Ever Given has begun its trip out of the Suez Canal, more than three months after becoming stuck in one of the world’s most crucial trade lanes and disrupting global supply lines.
The quarter-mile-long container ship that caused a six-day closure of the Suez Canal in March will now sail to Rotterdam, Netherlands, carrying hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cargo. It was scheduled to make its next stop in Felixstowe, England.
According to Jai Sharma, a partner at Clyde & Co, the journey to Rotterdam could take roughly two weeks, as the vessel will likely have to travel slower than usual due to the damage experienced in the event. The law firm represents corporations and insurers whose cargo exceeds $100 million in value and estimates that the overall worth of products on board exceeds $600 million.
On March 23, the Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal, putting additional strain on already-stressed global supply systems as hundreds of other vessels became entangled. The blockade increased container shortages, port congestion, and capacity limits, significantly increasing the cost of international trade and resulting in shortages of everything from exercise bikes to cheese during a period of exceptional demand.
The vessel was refloated on March 29 but has been imprisoned in the canal’s Great Bitter Lake pending the outcome of a legal battle between Japanese ship owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha and the Suez Canal Authority, which initially sought $900 million in compensation for losses incurred during the six-day closure.
Between the ship’s owners and the Suez Canal Authority, a formal agreement including an undisclosed compensation was made, Khaled Abu Bakr, a lawyer representing the Suez Canal Authority, revealed to CNN on Sunday.
Shoei Kisen Kaisha expressed gratitude to the Suez Canal Authority for releasing the ship and stated that it would “continue to be a regular and loyal customer” of the canal.
The business stated that the Ever Given will be inspected in Egypt’s Port Said before concluding her voyage and discharging her cargo – subject to approval by the American Bureau of Shipping, the vessel’s classification society. “We regret the impact that the voyage delay has had on those with cargo stuck on board,” the statement continued.
The standoff has stranded shipments belonging to IKEA, Lenovo, and a slew of smaller enterprises. Pearson 1860, a British bicycle manufacturer, and Snuggy UK, a manufacturer of wearable blankets, have critical orders stuck aboard the vessel, which was carrying 18,300 containers.
Pearson 1860 expects to receive its steel bicycle frames in London in another three to four weeks, narrowly missing its peak sales time. The ship is carrying products worth more than $100,000.
“We hope that the delivery process will be relatively seamless,” director Will Pearson told CNN Business on Wednesday. “It has been a frustrating time for so many companies with goods held to ransom for over 100 days, and little information forthcoming.”