Following the Suez Canal, Now the Highway... Evergreen's Continuous 'Blockage' Troubles

A truck carrying Evergreen containers caused a collision on a highway in Nanjing, China, resulting in traffic congestion. Photo by Online Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Amid disruptions in maritime transport caused by the grounding of the Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen's container ship, the Ever Given, in the Suez Canal, a truck carrying Evergreen containers caused traffic congestion due to a traffic accident on a highway in Nanjing, China, becoming the center of controversy.

According to the British media outlet UNILAD on the 27th, a truck carrying Evergreen containers was involved in a collision accident on a highway in Nanjing, China, that morning.

The container vehicle stopped across the middle of a four-lane highway, causing dozens of vehicles behind the accident site to be unable to pass, resulting in congestion. The accident vehicle was reported to be a truck from a transportation company subcontracted by Evergreen.

Photos of the accident were shared on Chinese social networking services (SNS) and quickly spread, becoming a hot topic because the scene resembled the recently grounded Ever Given in Egypt's Suez Canal.

Container ship Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal in Egypt. Photo by Yonhap News

The Ever Given ran aground in the middle of the Suez Canal, a key global trade route, on the morning of the 23rd. As a result, traffic through the Suez Canal was blocked, preventing about 400 ships from passing and causing logistics disruptions estimated at approximately 15.8 billion KRW (14 million USD) per day.

Meanwhile, another Evergreen container ship, the Ever Gentle, was confirmed to have caused a collision accident in its home country, Taiwan.

According to Taiwanese media, the Ever Gentle, which is in the same class as the Ever Given, collided with a crane at the dock while docking at Taipei Port around noon on the 27th, resulting in severe damage to the ship's funnel.

On the other hand, Bloomberg reported on the 28th that the salvage operation for the Ever Given, which was grounded in the Suez Canal, was successful. The outlet stated, "The Ever Given has been successfully refloated in the Suez Canal," but added, "It is uncertain when the Suez Canal will reopen."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.