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Harriet Brewis
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One of the world’s largest cargo container ships has been set free after turning sideways and blocking the Suez Canal, signalling the end of a saga that has significantly disrupted the global shipping system.
The Ever Given, a 400m-long, 59m-wide vessel, which carries trade between Asia and Europe, ran aground and became lodged sideways across Egypt’s narrow waterway on Tuesday, March 23.
Its operators, Evergreen Marine, suspect that it was “hit by a sudden wind, causing the hull to deviate... and accidentally hit the bottom.”
Tugboats and dredgers were deployed to undergo the painstaking operation of trying to free the ship, in a David vs. Goliath-style feat. On Monday morning, it was confirmed that she had finally been “partially refloated”. Later, the Suez Canal service firm said the massive container ship had been set free and was on the move.
Inevitably, from the moment the crisis first emerged, social media users rushed to turn it into a wide range of memes. Here, we’ve compiled 35 of the best.
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“Whatever you did today, whatever your shortcomings... you did not block the Suez Canal* with your gigantic boat,” wrote one Twitter user on Wednesday, hours after the ship got stuck.
*Unless of course, you’re the captain of Ever Given. In which case, well-- things happen.”
@jsrailton Whatever you did today, whatever your shortcomings... you did not block the Suez Canal* with your gigant… https://t.co/eAwsOn3rAJ— Jonathan Frederick (@Jonathan Frederick) 1616528772
Another tweeted: “Keeping an eye on the Suez Canal incident has shown me that no matter how bad my day is, halting global trade during a pandemic by parallel parking my 50,000-ton cargo ship in a tiny canal probably has some guy feeling a tad worse.”
Keeping an eye on the Suez Canal incident has shown me that no matter how bad my day is, halting global trade durin… https://t.co/DmQvKBWy17— Oliver Fletcher (@Oliver Fletcher) 1616563571
And another commented: “You may have had a bad day today but have you blocked the Suez Canal today level of bad day?”
You may have had a bad day today but have you blocked the Suez Canal today level of bad day? https://t.co/U9VqaKk7zc— Bad Road Loggie (@Bad Road Loggie) 1616538194
One person imagined the trepidation of the next boat crew to pass through the canal
I can literally hear the heartbeats of the next pilot who's lined up next to cross the Suez Canal after Ever Given… https://t.co/okVjfinriF— Guy With The Digger At Suez Canal (@Guy With The Digger At Suez Canal) 1617032961
Football pundit Gary Lineker seized on it as a metaphor for Tottenham Hotspur FC’s defence:
Breaking: Mourinho signs Evergreen. https://t.co/XBSN3mVO5z— Gary Lineker 💙 (@Gary Lineker 💙) 1616579011
And one company used it for an advert for their “service quality management platform”:
Don’t let your lengthy processes block your way to efficiency. Streamline them with Knowcross now! Reach out:… https://t.co/WpReq8bOaP— Knowcross (@Knowcross) 1616658526
Other users created colourful memes and GIFs to imagine the situation on the ground:
Someone just sent me this and I can't stop laughing. #Evergreen #EVERGIVEN #Suez https://t.co/MxTLwt50AB— Jeff Gibson (@Jeff Gibson) 1616608750
When you awkwardly block the Suez Canal..... https://t.co/mo7KkqPNBP— Aurora Intel (@Aurora Intel) 1616535097
Meanwhile, on the #SuezCanal https://t.co/EWZ0bcH9p6— Max Gallien (@Max Gallien) 1616543642
They all laughed, but there's about a thousand ships in the Suez Canal who could use this right now. https://t.co/NyWkyarkWf— Julie Gerstein (@Julie Gerstein) 1616575655
Good meme #SuezBLOCKED #suezcanel #SuezCrisis #suez https://t.co/24Qjcm9A2Z— dup (@dup) 1616854718
Solution to every problem #suezcanal #SuezCrisis https://t.co/ZMAEP3t9vT— sani (@sani) 1616902355
Good news everyone. https://t.co/V1jL6zP1x2— Mike Chase (@Mike Chase) 1616728619
FTW! (see full image) https://t.co/GMWQLH6aMz— Harry Turtledove (@Harry Turtledove) 1616801131
if you're in the line at the Suez Canal STAY IN LINE!!!— My Beautiful Dark Twisted Grindset 💸 (@My Beautiful Dark Twisted Grindset 💸) 1616781010
Teigen’s gone, Am-a-zon, trouble in the Suez!!!! #WDSTF2021 https://t.co/cKz27Beubg— Jonny (@Jonny) 1616690418
https://t.co/QqS4FZHKgX— darth™ (@darth™) 1616604356
The Will Young stans are out of control. https://t.co/BchqbmDIFL— Michael Fry (@Michael Fry) 1616587419
Everything reminds of suez canal #SuezCrisis https://t.co/n6diyUxynb— VarunMukati (@VarunMukati) 1616903755
While others empathised with a small digger that can be made out by zooming in on the image:
@jsrailton @hikikomorphism https://t.co/u9OUPWppsJ— goobernetes (@goobernetes) 1616536089
I felt like we could all relate to that excavator 😅 #suezcanal #suezcanalmemes https://t.co/5FWYymOf5K— Em (@Em) 1616554198
When you feel stressed at work, take a look at this tiny excavator. The burden of dredging the route between Asia a… https://t.co/B4YKscEgPN— Vsy (@Vsy) 1616569216
When your boss tells you “make it happen” and you have a can-do attitude 😂 #SuezCanal https://t.co/8HZGI9EfmQ— Nadine (@Nadine) 1616563926
“John, I think we’re going to need a bigger digger” 😂 #Evergreen #Suez https://t.co/UqbtHNEBQC— AJD (@AJD) 1616576800
https://t.co/3Zr2v73PmY— Ross Sayers (@Ross Sayers) 1616699038
Idk who came up with this, but I am SO here for this deeply sociological meme https://t.co/rdu44hEyvK— Dr. Laura Mauldin (@Dr. Laura Mauldin) 1616766214
Former traffic reporter Jon Hansen briefly returned to the job to give everyone an update:
The former traffic reporter in me couldn’t resist giving you a Suez Canal traffic update... https://t.co/1CssLkQDty— Jon Hansen (@Jon Hansen) 1616788798
When was the last time South Africa’s coast saw this much action?
theyre actually doing it! ever given has been there so long that theyre actually going around the cape of good hope… https://t.co/WJnmFuEqVZ— Aria: Now Available in Pill Form (@Aria: Now Available in Pill Form) 1616697286
Cape Horn hasn’t seen this kinda action since like 1850 https://t.co/cPCx5LvojO— Eric Koch (@Eric Koch) 1616706040
America just couldn’t let someone else have any of the attention, could it?
america can’t let anyone else have the spotlight for five minutes 🙄 https://t.co/6TC0t62ZPh— vic 🌸 (@vic 🌸) 1616773844
Once it was confirmed that the ship had been wrenched free, people began to lament the loss of their new friend.
THE BOAT'S UNSTUCK?? PUT IT BACK RN PUT IT BACK https://t.co/XfHAU64ohH— cas ; rory ; willow 🌸 (@cas ; rory ; willow 🌸) 1616992622
evergreen: stuck in Suez Canal for days, stopping global seafaring trade and costing billions twitter: PUT IT BACK… https://t.co/txhDA5ChAt— kristenderloin done medium (@kristenderloin done medium) 1616993490
THERE WAS SOMETHING DEEPLY COMFORTING ABOUT THE BOAT BEING STUCK AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF THEY COULD PUT IT BACK— NOT A WOLF (@NOT A WOLF) 1616995814
I hope they keep in touch #Suez #EVERGIVEN https://t.co/hYiWs0qDQG— HappyToast ★ (@HappyToast ★) 1616999119
Everyone saying that it was better when the Ever Given was still in the canal is just jealous that she’s the only o… https://t.co/WZktBX01tZ— Christine Love (@Christine Love) 1616996489
some people aren't brave enough to stand by their convictions, but I'm going to say it: put the boat back now.— ℳikhail Klimentov (@ℳikhail Klimentov) 1616990617
For almost a week, the Ever Given blocked transit in both directions through one of the world’s busiest shipping channels for goods, oil, grain and other products linking Asia and Europe.
In the early hours of Monday, authorities announced that the ship had been partially refloated. This followed intensive efforts to push and pull her with 15 tugboats when the full moon brought spring tide, raising the canal’s water level.
Videos shared widely on social media showed tugboats in the canal sounding their horns in celebration of the monster vessel being partly wrenched from the shore:
THE SHIP IS MOVED AFTER SIX DAYS!! Must have been a titanic of an effort. So long ship memes, it’s been fun. Incre… https://t.co/R8DCzPS5CU— Nuice Media (Taylor’s Version) (@Nuice Media (Taylor’s Version)) 1616994162
After hauling the fully laden 220,000-ton giant over the canal bank, the salvage team began pulling her towards the Great Bitter Lake – a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south end of the canal – to undergo technical inspections.
Satellite data from MarineTraffic.com confirmed the ship was moving away from the shoreline toward the centre of the artery.
URGENT: #SuezUnblocked The #EVERGIVEN is now moving. #SuezLiveonMT https://t.co/WC6IHuQ4PS— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) 1617025675
The obstruction of the crucial waterway held up $9 billion in global trade each day and strained supply chains already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Hundreds of vessels, carrying everything from crude oil to cattle, were forced to wait to pass through the canal, while dozens had decided to take the alternate route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip, adding some two weeks to journeys and threatening delivery delays.
The ship, which can carry some 20,000 containers at a time, had listed its destination as Rotterdam in the Netherlands prior to getting stuck.
One thing remains clear: the Dutch aren’t the only ones who are going to have to keep waiting for their delivery.
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