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HOW CATERPILLAR
CUSTOMERS
HELPED UNBLOCK
THE SUEZ CANAL
As the world waited and watched for nearly
a week, Caterpillar customers were on the
job around the clock helping refloat a large,
Evergreen Marine Corporation container You’ve no doubt heard the story many times
ship – named Ever Given – that was blocking by now. A vessel en route from China to
Europe ran aground in the busy maritime
the Suez Canal in both directions. thoroughfare. But it wasn’t just any ship. It
was one of the world’s largest container ships
– nearly a quarter mile long and weighing
200,000 metric tons – that became stuck in the
waterway, blocking traffic in both directions.
You’ve probably also heard that after nearly a
week of being lodged diagonally across the canal,
the Ever Given was refloated and commenced
its journey along the 120-mile historic waterway.
The 400+ vessel-backlog waiting to pass
through the canal finally dissipated, and now it’s
business as usual at the global shipping lane.
This you know. But what you may not know
is how the ship was ultimately freed and
what role Caterpillar customers played in the
rescue. It was, of course, a complicated effort
14 Cat Magazine
