EVER GIVEN

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

ITF supports crew of stranded vessel

On April 18 representatives of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) boarded the 'Ever Given' to check on the health and welfare of the crew. ITF Arab World and Iran Network Coordinator Mohamed Arrachedi worked closely to have two ITF contacts in Egypt to board the vessel and perform welfare checks on the crew under his direction. “We are pleased to inform the world that the crew of the Ever Given is in good spirits, and doing well. The crew were pleased to see ITF Egyptian union officials, who greeted them and expressed the solidarity of the global seafaring family. The crew are understandably sensitive at this moment, as they wait to see what will happen with arguments between authorities and other parties. They are eager to sail, or know that they will be able to go home and see their families if the ship cannot leave Egypt soon. They are relieved to know the ITF is on their side. “We have been in contact with the crew and there were no welfare issues raised for the time being. We continue to monitor the situation and the crew know we are available to support where needed,” Arrachedi said. No seafarer wages or contract violations were found by the ITF representatives, and all crew had received their wages for March. The crew had sufficient food provisions. The ITF delivered devices for the crew to connect to the internet. The crew is represented by the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), which has been advocating for them with employers and Egyptian authorities. NUSI General Secretary Abdulgani Y Serang called on Egyptian authorities to allow the release of the crew as per their normal contract conclusions and to not keep crew onboard. It has been unclear if the Indian crew will be allowed to leave via Egypt, as arguments continued between the ship’s insurer and the Suez Canal Authority: “We urge Egyptian authorities to make clear that all of the Ever Given twenty-five crew members will be allowed to leave at the normal conclusion of their contracts. We cannot have a situation where the crew are effectively being held hostage as financial negotiations that do not concern the seafarers continue between parties.” The union was prepared to fight any accusations that seafarers were to blame for the events leading to the 'Ever Given'’s blockage of the canal.

Evergreen not allowed to transship containers

An Egyptian court has ruled that Evergreen will not be allowed to remove containers from the detained 'Ever Given', as the detention applies to both the ship and its cargo. Channel authorities said they will detain the ship until they have received $ 916 million in compensation from the shipping company. The court's ruling came after Evergreen had announced that it was investigating the possibilities of moving the thousands of containers on board the vessel to smaller ships. The company considered sending empty ships to the Bitter Lake, or letting ships on their way through the canal take containers from the detained ship. How it was intended to transfer the containers remained unclear. The nearest ports - Port Suez and Port Said - are also not deep enough to receive the container ship, nor do they have the cranes to handle it. But according to the court ruling, it is irrelevant right now.

Evergreen considering taking off the cargo

The transshipment of the thousands of containers stranded on the 'Ever Given', detained by the Suez Authority, are onto smaller vessels was now being considered in order to transport them to their final destinations as quickly as possible. The Evergreen Marine Corporation was currently thinking about sending empty container ships to the Bitter Lake, where the 'Ever Given' is detained, or letting ships on their way take containers from the vessel. "The possibility of moving containers to other ships and delivering them to customers in Europe is now on the table." The 'Ever Given' is loaded with about 18,000 TEU. The Egyptian authorities are demanding a compensation totaling 916 million Dllars. The ship, after thorough investigations, was approved for further sailing towards the destination in Rotterdam.