Better late than never! The Ever Given FINALLY arrives in Rotterdam to unload its cargo 129 days after it blocked the Suez Canal and stopped £42billion of world trade
The giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week and stopped £42billion worth of world trade four months ago has finally arrived in the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands to begin unloading its cargo.
As dawn broke over the sprawling port, the Ever Given eased into the Amazonehaven container terminal months later than originally planned.
The Panama-flagged vessel was heading for Rotterdam when it ploughed into the sandy bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 3.7 miles north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez on March 23.
A massive salvage effort freed the skyscraper-sized vessel six days later, allowing a traffic jam of hundreds of waiting ships to pass through the canal.
'It was a great relief to see her and a special moment,' said Hans Nagtegaal, the Rotterdam port's director of containers, of Ever Given's arrival.
'Finally we can get the job done offloading and hopefully get her back to a normal sailing routine,' he said.
Nagtegaal said the Ever Given will remain in Rotterdam until Monday, when she's expected to sail for Felixstowe in Britain, before going to into a dry dock in Dunkirk in France for a further inspection.
more videos
North Belfast scene where police have launched a murder investigation
E-scooter rider flies into water trying to ride through flooded road
Police say boy's death was accident after being reported missing
Gymnast Simone Biles opens up about battle with 'twisties'
'Time to cut the holiday': Campers in Cornwall battered by winds
Samaritans stop to help man having a seizure behind the wheel
Mena Suvari opens up about getting sexually and emotionally abused
Adorable baby girl scratches head against her dad's beard
Adorable moment sad little boy is consoled by sweet neighbourhood cat
Some employers see vaccinated policy imposed on staff as 'smart'
Tents blow in the wind as unsettled weather arrives for Bestival
Immersive exhibit voiced by Judi Dench tells story of historic ship
The giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week and stopped £42billion worth of world trade four months ago has finally arrived in the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands to begin unloading its cargo
As dawn broke over the sprawling port, the Ever Given eased into the Amazonehaven container terminal months later than originally planned
The Panama-flagged vessel (pictured in Rotterdam) was heading for Rotterdam when it ploughed into the sandy bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 3.7 miles north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez on March 23
The container ship Ever Given arrives at the ECT (Europe Container Terminals) Delta terminal in the port of Rotterdam
The container ship Ever Given arrives at the ECT (Europe Container Terminals) Delta terminal in the port of Rotterdam
The Ever Given will remain in Rotterdam until Monday, when she's expected to sail for Felixstowe in Britain, before going to into a dry dock in Dunkirk in France for a further inspection
The Taiwanese operated vessel got diagonally stuck in the narrow but crucial global trade artery in a sandstorm on March 23, setting in motion a mammoth six-day-long effort by Egyptian personnel and international salvage specialists to dislodge it
Three weeks ago, the Ever Given left the canal's Great Bitter Lake, where it had been held for more than three months amid a financial dispute.
It was freed to continue its voyage after the ship's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, reached a compensation settlement with canal authorities following weeks of negotiations and a court stand-off.
The nearly 200,000-tonne container vessel became wedged in the canal during a sandstorm on March 23, blocking a vital artery from Asia to Europe that carries 10 percent of global maritime trade and provides Egypt with vital revenues.
After a round-the-clock salvage operation to dislodge it, Egypt seized the ship and demanded compensation from owners Shoei Kisen Kaisha for lost canal revenues, salvage costs and damage to the canal.
The Suez Canal Authority announced last month it had signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Japanese firm ahead of reaching a final deal.
Cairo initially demanded $916 million in compensation before slashing that to around $550 million, but the final figure was the subject of tough negotiations.
The Ever Given arrives to dock in the early morning at the Europoort harbour on July 29, 2021 in Rotterdam
Three weeks ago, the Ever Given left the canal's Great Bitter Lake, where it had been held for more than three months amid a financial dispute. Pictured: Ever Given in Rotterdam
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said the Ever Given would be freed from a holding lake mid-canal, where the vessel and its crew was impounded while the two sides negotiated a settlement
more videos
North Belfast scene where police have launched a murder investigation
E-scooter rider flies into water trying to ride through flooded road
Police say boy's death was accident after being reported missing
Gymnast Simone Biles opens up about battle with 'twisties'
'Time to cut the holiday': Campers in Cornwall battered by winds
Samaritans stop to help man having a seizure behind the wheel
Mena Suvari opens up about getting sexually and emotionally abused
Adorable baby girl scratches head against her dad's beard
Adorable moment sad little boy is consoled by sweet neighbourhood cat
Some employers see vaccinated policy imposed on staff as 'smart'
Tents blow in the wind as unsettled weather arrives for Bestival
'World's most powerful' wave turbine whirrs into action off Orkney
Owner Shoei Kisen and the ship's insurers had disputed the claim and the ship's detention under an Egyptian court order.
The two sides have traded blame for the vessel's grounding, with bad weather, poor decisions on the part of canal authorities, and human and technical error all being thrown out as possible factors.
The six-day blockage disrupted global shipping. Hundreds of ships waited in place for the canal to be unblocked, while some ships were forced to take the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa's southern tip, requiring additional fuel and other costs.
Egypt, which earns more than $5 billion a year from the canal, lost between $12 million and $15 million in revenues each day it was closed, the SCA said.
In April, maritime data company Lloyd's List said the blockage by the vessel, which is longer than four football fields, held up some $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day it was stuck.