Operations on the Suez Canal have returned to normal,
according to the waterway's managers, and the 400-plus vessels that were forced
to wait during the recent grounding have all completed their transits.
While almost all of the vessels delayed by the grounding
have moved on through the canal, the Ever Given may not be among them - at
least, not until Egyptian investigators have completed their work. Local outlet
Al-Shorouk reports that the ship and her crew will be restricted to an anchorage
at Great Bitter Lake until after the initial inquiry is finished.
Egyptian investigators obtained data from the Ever Given's
VDR last week, Al-Shorouk reported, citing unnamed sources in the Suez Canal
Authority. The records are said to include bridge audio.
According to Italian newswire Agenzia Nova, two canal
authority officials assert that the Ever Given may have "veered"
while navigating up the canal, contributing to the grounding. The report could
not be immediately confirmed.
Officials at the SCA have insisted that the canal bears no
responsibility for the grounding and - on the contrary - deserves considerable
credit for the successful refloat effort. On the second point, foreign nations
and international organizations agree: the IMO and Evergreen Line have
presented the SCA with formal letters of thanks (below) for the authority's
work to restore the flow of global commerce.