The container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in 2021 was Ever Given. The vessel ran aground on March 23, 2021, wedging across the waterway and stopping traffic in both directions.
Ever Given is an Evergreen Marine-operated ultra-large container ship built by the Japanese company Imabari Shipbuilding. It was traveling from Malaysia toward the Netherlands when strong winds and difficult navigation conditions contributed to the grounding. The ship’s roughly 400-meter length made it long enough to span much of the canal’s width.
Salvage crews used dredgers, ballast adjustments, and more than a dozen tugboats. Ever Given was finally freed on March 29 after blocking the canal for six days, and it was moved to the Great Bitter Lake for inspection. Hundreds of ships had queued, disrupting one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
Ever Forward, Ever Glory, and Ever Lucky are different Evergreen-related vessels. The common mix-up comes from Evergreen’s use of “Ever” names, but only Ever Given was responsible for the famous 2021 Suez obstruction.