Ever Given calls at Malta for bunkering

The notorious cargo ship, which was at the centre of an international supply line crisis in March, when it became grounded in the Seuz canal was, on Sunday, spotted off the coast of Malta for bunkering on its passage to the Far East.

Sharing a photo of the ship on social media, Anton Xerri, General Manager at GreenWaveshipping.mt, which is the general agent of the ship’s operator Evergreen in Malta explained the ship is on a passage to the Far East.

The vessel was chartered to Evergreen Lines at the point it was grounded and is said to be returning to the Far East where it is expected to come back into service in October.

The vessel was only released from the canal in July, where it was held while negotiations between the ship’s owners, insurers, and the Suez Canal Authority regarding a compensation deal were held.

Under a subsequent deal, the Ever Given was allowed to leave the canal’s midway point, the Great Bitter Lake, where it was impounded.

Built in 2018 and operated by Taiwanese company ‘Evergreen Marine’, the Ever Given was bound for the Netherlands, travelling northwards through the canal from China when it ran aground, blocking one of the busiest waterways in the world and threatening a potential global supply-chain crisis. 

Despite the incident, the canal earned a revenue of $3 billion in the first six months of 2021, representing an increase of 8.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2020, according to Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabie.