68-page final investigation report into the Ever Given Suez grounding released 

The Panamanian registry, which has the Ever Given on its books, has published its verdict on this decade’s most high-profile shipping accident. 

When the 20,124 teu Ever Given became lodged across the Suez Canal in March 2021 for six days, shipping was thrust into the mainstream press on a scale rarely seen before, with world trade backing up on either side of the waterway, social media memes proliferating and multiple court cases to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars proceeding to this very day.

Now the Panama Maritime Authority has published a 68-page final investigation report into the incident in which the canal’s pilots do not come out in a good light. 

The vessel traffic management system, the pilots and the master had not properly evaluated bad weather conditions especially strong winds and reduced visibility, the report stated, suggesting the vessel ought to have sought the assistance of tugs for its northbound transit.

A seafarer who was on a ship further ahead in the convoy told Splash that he experienced gusts of wind that day of up to 50 knots. The master of an LNG carrier the day prior had taken the decision to delay transiting, fearful of the inclement conditions.

“The pilots conducted the pilotage without requesting assistance from the master, who was more familiar with vessel manoeuvring characteristics,” the report states.  

Although the captain intervened in the orders given by the pilot, instructing the helmsman to keep the ship in the middle of the channel, they were not effective in preventing the grounding. Language barriers between the Arabic-speaking pilots and the bridge team did not help either. 

According to the Suez Canal regulations, the permissible speed for ships is 8.64 knots. On average the Ever Given sailed at a speed higher than it should have done. 

The squat and bank effect, the speed and the changes in the direction of the wind and the hard helm orders directly influenced the loss of manoeuvrability of the ship, the report found.

This is not the first time that the Suez pilots have been targeted for the Ever Given grounding. At a court hearing in Egypt in June 2021, as the ship’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, fought to get its vessel freed from the clutches of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), judges heard how a few kilometres into Ever Given’s transit, placed 13th in a 20-ship convoy, the 400 m long ship veered from port to starboard and back again. In response, according to court documents, the lead pilot instructed the helmsman to steer hard right, then hard left.

“The Ever Given‘s vast hull took so long to respond that by the time it began to move, he needed to correct course again. When the second pilot objected, the two argued,” an article published by Bloomberg Businessweek two years ago noted.

The lead pilot then gave a new order: “Full ahead.” The ship sped up to 13 knots, five knots faster than the canal’s recommended speed limit. The two pilots continued to argue, with the lead pilot even threatening to leave the ship.

The increase in power created unforeseen problems in the shape of what is known as Bernoulli’s principle, whereby a fluid’s pressure goes down when its speed goes up. The ship’s prow ended up lodged on the right bank of the canal, thrusting shipping into the mainstream media for the following week.

As the two SCA pilots readied to leave the ship in the wake of the accident, the pilots were heard to still be arguing between themselves.

“These vessels are not supposed to enter,” the lead pilot said.

“Why did you let it enter?” his colleague responded.

In terms of its recommendations to avoid further groundings along the canal, Panamanian authorities urged greater crew training, better dialogue between crews and pilots, and for masters to be more willing to take the initiative quicker from pilots. Ships must travel in the centre of the canal, the report stressed. This way, any potential bank effect will be reduced to a minimum, the vessel will be able to turn smoothly and there will be extra time to react in case of a navigational error. The rate of turn should never be greater than 10° per minute. 

The report also hit out at the Suez Canal Authority for its failure to release much information about the casualty. 

“Taking into consideration the increased number and size of vessels that are crossing the canal, the risk of marine casualties/incidents within the canal is getting higher,” the report pointed out, adding: “In view of the above Suez Canal Authority should consider reviewing its procedures and regulations, as well as training of Suez Canal pilots, in order to ensure vessel safety navigation transit within Canal and minimize the risk of grounding.”

The canal has suffered plenty of scary moments this year with the number of groundings doubling year-on-year.