Suez Canal Blockage: EverGiven

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In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days by the Ever Given, a container ship that had run aground in the canal.
Hazard:
Interrupted traffic routes, High economic damage
Year:
2021
Location:
Suez Canal, Egypt
Involved Organisations:
Hamburg Fire Department, Egyptian Authorities
Publishing Organisation

Federation of European Fire Officers (FEU)

Category

Real-world

Theme

Social Media

Thematic
  • Collecting and Analysing Information from SMCS
  • Making Information Accessible
Disaster Management Phase

After, Before, During

Description

In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days by the Ever Given, a container ship that had run aground in the canal. The 400-metre-long (1,300 ft), 224,000-ton, 20,000 TEU vessel was buffeted by strong winds on the morning of 23 March, and ended up wedged across the waterway with its bow and stern stuck in the canal banks, blocking all traffic until it could be freed. Egyptian authorities said that "technical or human errors" may have also been involved. The obstruction occurred south of the two-channel section of the canal, so there was no way around it for other ships. The blockage of one of the world's busiest trade routes significantly slowed down trade between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. On 28 March, at least 369 ships were queuing to pass through the canal, stranding an estimated US$9.6 billion worth of trade. On 29 March, Ever Given finally freed by 14 Egyptian, Dutch, and Italian tug boats at high tide to dislodge it.

(Source: Wikipedia)
What was the overall goal of the Use Case?
From the perspective of the Hamburg Fire Department, the consequences for the Port of Hamburg are to be assessed. The aim was to evaluate information in real time from Social Media.
What worked well and could be recommended to others?

Photos and information about the operation were pulled from social media more quickly than was possible using conventional fire service means and improved the situational picture.

The salvage operation provides information for the company's own operational planning in the event of accidents in the port. In particular, the timeline was tracked to estimate when the impact in Hamburg is likely to occur in future events. The use of special maps, estimating which ships will be „delayed“ are useful.
What limitations were identified?
Plausibility must be checked for all searches, and specially trained personnel are required for this purpose.
Which social media and crowdsourcing technologies were used?
Which social media platforms were used?
Which hashtags or keywords were used?
#EverGiven, #Suezkanal