Can shipping move on?

A year after Ever Given’s catastrophic blockage of the Suez Canal, the shipping industry is continuing to respond to the vulnerabilities exposed in the world’s maritime supply chain

When the 400m (1,312ft) container ship Ever Given became stuck for six days in the Suez Canal in March 2021, world trade was paralysed, then impacted for months afterwards.

The massive Japanese-owned vessel ran aground, diagonally, in the canal after losing directional stability when it was buffeted by a sandstorm and gale force crosswinds. Engineers managed to re-float the ship, which was carrying more than 20,000 containers, thanks to an extraordinary earthworks effort and a fortuitously-timed high spring tide.

Once Ever Given was freed, Egypt brought forward proposed plans to widen the canal, with the 30km stretch where Ever Given became grounded set to be broadened by 40m (130ft) and deepened from 20m (66ft) to 22m (72ft) — a project due for completion by July 2023.

Under the glare of the world’s media — and leading to knock-on financial losses of billions of dollars around the globe — the Ever Given incident graphically exposed how modern shipping scheduling efficiency faces three fundamental problems: how to cope with increasingly large vessels, mitigate port congestion, and deal with climate volatility.

Is bigger better…?

Over the past 50 years, the container carrying capacity of the world’s biggest ships has increased 1,500%, and doubled over the past decade alone.

Shipping lines are attracted to the cost efficiencies offered by ultra-large container vessels, while the World Shipping Council argues that they are up to two and a half times more energy efficient than equivalent rail transport and seven times better than road transport.

However, stacking containers higher and higher makes ships more susceptible to severe winds, while stacking them wider and wider can increase problematic hydrodynamic forces that make it harder to steer a large vessel in relatively tight spaces, such as ports and canals.

Smart ports

To cope with increasing maritime traffic and vessel congestion, destinations around the world are now starting to look to advanced digital technology for new solutions.

Rotterdam, for instance, says it aims to become ‘the smartest port in the world’ by 2025.

“The port of the future will be completely digital, making the most of Artificial Intelligence, blockchain and the Internet of Things to create greater operational efficiency in port operations and logistic chains,” predicts Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. “All of the objects in a smart port – the vessels, cranes, trains, trucks, containers, and tugs – will become increasingly smart and be able to communicate with each other directly in real time through the Internet of Things to reduce port congestion and backlogs.”

Climate volatility

Weather extremes, meanwhile, are also now impacting the effectiveness of today’s maritime supply chain. 

“Weather is no longer seasonal,” explains Captain Andrew Kinsey, marine risk consultant at insurer AGCS. “Year round we are starting to see tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and storms affecting shipping and maritime infrastructure, so the shipping industry needs to be more proactive in addressing and mitigating the impacts of extreme weather. 

“More accurate weather forecasting and technology will help shipping companies plan ahead and take action to avoid losses. If they can track and predict storms, shipping companies can consider their best options – such as whether to delay departure, seek shelter, or re-route to an alternative port. It’s about planning, understanding when it is safe to proceed, and identifying safe harbours and alternatives.” 

Lean and punishing

Modern container ships are now run by around half the number of crew who would have been on board an equivalent vessel 50 years ago.

“It’s therefore too easy for things to go catastrophically wrong,” explains Dr Claire Pekcan, former professor of maritime applied psychology at the Warsash Maritime Academy.

“There is no longer any fat in the system — no buffer that allows sailors to have a bad day.

“Today’s mariners have very long contracts and punishing schedules, and they have to be alert every moment they’re on board the ship.

“It’s a very vulnerable system, and, at the end of the day, it’s the poor old seafarer who will pay the price — either with their job or with their life.”

Suez success

As the investigation continues into the Ever Given incident, record levels of traffic are passing through the 153-year-old canal, with 1,774 ships transiting the waterway in January 2022. Annual revenues for 2021 were up 12.8%, hitting more than $6.3 billion. And the Suez Canal Authority says it is confident it can increase its share of the global marine trade to more than 12 per cent, compared to the 10 per cent share it achieved in 2021.

For analysis of the Ever Given’s grounding, see the BBC2 documentary Why Ships Crash, or Bloomberg documentary The Inside Story of the Ship That Broke Global Trade. And read The untold story of the big boat that broke the world written by Alex Christian for WIRED magazine in June 2021 which won the inaugural Kevin Tester Award for Journalism. 

Dennis O’Neill is a freelance journalist specialising in maritime.