MV Ever Given, a marine blood clot lodged in one of the world’s great trade arteries, threatening to cause the equivalent of a global economic stroke, was a predictable disaster. Warnings were given. But as with so many other aspects of globalized business as usual, from plagues to climate disruption, they were ignored in favor of running the machine harder for the usual reason. Making more money. The Suez Canal blockage stands as a poster for a global economy pushing hard against planetary limits.
I’ve been cruising the web looking for insights on the immediate crisis and the deeper background, and finding some tremendous sources. In posts today and tomorrow I’ll share some of the most crucial. There are some doozies.
First, I’ll deal with the immediate situation. It’s getting worse by the day. You can partly thank cost-cutting beancounters.
I quickly uncovered gCaptain, a marine industry source run by people who’ve actually walked the decks and bridges. They know their stuff. I attach two lengthy videos below. I’ve watched them so you don’t have to. But if you are interested, the discussions are fascinating. The key points are summarized below.
John Konrad, founder and CEO of gCaptain, says this is not a stable situation. “This is not a linear problem. It is exponentially growing.”
Capt. Nick Sloane of Resolve Marine, who has managed many salvage operations and is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts, explains that a ship lodged between two banks with the center unsupported is a breakup waiting to happen, particularly for a heavily loaded vessel such as Ever Given. Steel in ships is designed to flex. But if that goes on too long it starts to crack, potentially releasing bunker fuel and creating a salvage situation it might take months to resolve.
“She’s actually going to start sagging,” Sloane says. “Being suspended like this is the worst condition for a ship.”
MOL Comfort, a ship less than half of Ever Given’s size, broke apart in heavy weather off the coast of Yemen in 2013 due to weak steel. It was the biggest shipping loss seen to that date. In 2020, Japanese freighter MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef in Mauritius. Under strain, it broke apart and released as much as 1,000 tons of heavy oil into one of the island nation’s most precious natural resources. It was one of the worst environmental disasters ever to occur in the western Indian Ocean. BP was supplying a so-called cleaner marine fuel. It has helped block investigations. Good old “Beyond Petroleum!”
Ever Given is only two years old, so that provides hope, notes Sal Mercagliano, a merchant marine veteran who now teaches at Campbell University. Ten years ago that might have provided assurance. But computer programs now allow shipbuilders to minimize steel use. It cuts weight and costs and increases cargo capacity. He cited the example of the MV Golden Ray, a two-year-old car carrier that capsized in St. Simons Sound, Georgia, in 2019. Built according to old standards, it could have been refloated, but because steel was thinner it had to be broken up for scrap, Mercagliano says.
Konrad notes that the ship is taking on water in bow and stern compartments where the ship grounded. It appears there were cracks, but no one knows the extent. Big pumps have been brought in. Compartments are sealed, so this is not an immediate sinking concern. But the longer the ship stays lodged, the greater become the risks.
Cheap steel reflects the logic of global capitalism in a world run by beancounters. Cut costs wherever possible, even if it makes the overall system more fragile. This is a theme that runs through this survey.
As for removing containers, the marine experts pointed out a critical problem. They must first be removed from the center, or the stressed ship could break. That would involve reaching 200 meters from the shore, which is beyond the capability of shore cranes. Removal of some 20,000 tons of liquids on board, including fuel, is more likely.
Sloane sees dredging to remove sand as the most likely way the ship will be freed. Konrad expects a back twist, tugs pulling from opposite sides. A similar sized container ship lodged in the Elbe. It took a week and 12 tugs to free it. But there’s a big problem. The largest tug kept on station at the canal can exert force on a ship equal to 160 tons. That’s smaller than tugs required at ports capable of handling mega-ships such as the Ever Given, which must be able to pull 300 tons. Bigger tugs are on the way, but they have to be brought in on the south side from the Persian Gulf and on the north side from the Mediterranean. And they might not be large enough to handle the challenge, Konrad says. It is “ridiculous” the canal doesn’t have adequate rescue tugs on hand, he adds.
Again, a world run by profit-oriented beancounters seeking to cut costs to the bone leaves us unprepared when things go wrong. Whether it’s having sufficient protective gear when a pandemic hits, or tugs large enough to handle a marine crisis in the world’s most important waterway. More from neoliberal global capitalism, short-term gains producing long-term pain. It’s a pattern.
Tomorrow I’ll be back with the broader questions about the rise of the mega-ships, a recent development, and what this means for shipping infrastructure including ports and people people living around them. Living in a major container port, Seattle, this is on my backdoor. I’ll also dig into the biggest question of all, the fragility of our dependence on global supply chains.