'Ever Forward' runs aground in US one year after 'Ever Given' blocked Suez Canal


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A massive container ship owned by the same company as the Ever Given has run aground in the US, officials said on Monday.

The 334-metre Ever Forward ran aground in Chesapeake Bay shortly after leaving a Baltimore port on Sunday night, said Maryland Port Administration executive director William Doyle on Monday.

The accident happened almost exactly a year after the 200,000-ton container ship MV Ever Given became wedged in the Suez Canal during a sandstorm, blocking the key waterway for six days.

“There have been no injuries or spills,” Mr Doyle said. “The ship's grounding is not preventing other ships from transiting to the Port of Baltimore.”

Mr Doyle said efforts had been under way since Sunday night to free the stranded vessel, which was bound for Norfolk, Virginia, when the accident happened.

Both vessels are owned by the Evergreen Marine Corp, which is based in Taiwan.

A satellite image shows the 'MV Ever Given' cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal in March 2021. AP
A satellite image shows the 'MV Ever Given' cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal in March 2021. AP

The Suez Canal is a vital artery from Asia to Europe that carries 10 per cent of global maritime trade and provides Egypt with vital revenue.

Work began in February to expand the two-way section of the canal by 10 kilometres. But widening the whole waterway was deemed too expensive to be viable, said the chairman of the authority managing the Egyptian Suez Canal.

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

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Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

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 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

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Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.

Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.

The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.

Updated: June 21, 2023, 6:38 AM