Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Suez Canal Chief Says Human Error is to Blame for Ever Given Fiasco

Suez Canal Chief Says Human Error is to Blame for Ever Given Fiasco

The Suez Canal, a major artery for global trade, was blocked late last month after the Ever Given, a skyscraper-sized, Japanese-owned, Panama-registered, German-managed and Taiwanese-operated container ship jammed itself into the waterway’s right wall, completely halting all passage in either direction.

Egypt is leaning toward the theory that the Ever Given incident was caused by human error, Osama Rabie, chairman and managing director of the Suez Canal, has told Japan’s Kyodo News Agency.

“There is a possibility that the captain made a mistake in operation or speed regulation,” Rabie said, adding that an analysis of the available data reinforces this view.

The official added that a Suez Canal pilot was on board the ship, but stressed the blame for the accident lays solely on the captain. “The pilot gives advice, but the final decision is taken by the captain. There were no mistakes on our part and we do not bear any responsibility,” Rabie suggested.

Late last month, The Japan Times reported that the Ever Given, which is owned by the Japanese shipbuilding giant Imabari Shipbuilding, was traveling through the canal at a rate of 13.5 knots before running aground, despite the canal’s speed limit of between 7.6 and 8.6 knots.

In the incident’s aftermath, recordings captured by various marine tracking apps appeared to confirm that the Ever Given was travelling at an unusual speed before veering into the canal’s right bank on 23 March.


Rabie’s comments follow remarks he made earlier that Canal authorities would be seeking “over a billion dollars in compensation” for the accident.

The Ever Given’s black box was removed from the ship on 1 April for analysis. The device contains recordings of all radio chatter, captain’s orders and signals that the ship followed before it ran aground. Egyptian authorities had warned the ship and its owners that if they refused to cooperate with the investigation, the case would be requalified as an administrative offence, and the ship and all its cargo would be detained until a court ruling, with that process threatening to drag out as much as two years, while cooperation would allow for the issue to be resolved within a week.

Ever Given Saga


It took canal authorities six days to unjam the Ever Given, with workers and tugs working feverishly day and night to get the ship unstuck amid estimates that every hour it remained jammed up was causing the hold-up of up to $400 million in goods. Egypt itself reportedly lost $14 million in transit fees every day that the drama continued. After the ship was freed on 29 March, it took another five days for all 422 vessels with a combined tonnage of 22 million tones to pass through the canal zone en route to their destinations.

On Friday, Rabie told CNN Arabic that canal authorities were considering expanding the strategic waterway’s width, but that there was no need to deepen the channel.

It’s not clear at this point whom Egyptian authorities expect to pay compensation, with the Ever Given a prime example of the globalised state of modern shipping operations. The massive ship is owned by Imabari, but is registered in Panama, managed by German ship management company Bernhard Schulte, chartered by Taiwanese container transport company Evergreen Maritime, and has an all-Indian crew. The name of the ship’s captain has not been revealed.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
×