Also the “Catania” tug in the Suez Canal for the release of the Ever Given

A large tugboat flying the Italian flag, the Charlemagne, arrived in the Suez Canal to join the release operations of the Ever Given, the 220,000-ton, 400-meter-long container ship that ran aground six days ago. The website of the Egyptian government newspaper al-Ahram announced this, citing satellite data from MarineTraffic.com and explaining that a Dutch tugboat, the Alp Guard, also arrived today.

The rescue tug Carlo Magno is part of the fleet of the Augustea company. Built in 2006 by the Rosetti Marino shipyard in Ravenna and registered at the port of Catania, it has a tonnage of 1,658 tons and a power of 10,880 horses with which it hopes to contribute to the removal of the container ship from the Suez Canal. It has a width of 15.50 meters, a depth of seven meters and a height of 6.20 meters.

Founded in 1955 by Salvatore Cafiero in Naples, the Augustea Group is a provider of maritime services and transport services. Controlled by the Cafiero-Zagari families, the Augustea group has offices and operational branches in Naples and Augusta in Italy, London, Singapore, Malta, Buenos Aires, the Philippines and Colombia.

The tug is a bit “Catania” because it was registered in the port of Etna but also because Augustea, a company founded in Augusta, then expanded its activities in various ports including that of Catania where it mainly deals with towing passenger ferries and merchant ships. Now, however, the tug comes from another complex operation carried out in Dubai.

The operations

At around 16 today a new attempt will be conducted to free the Ever Given, the cargo ship stranded for six days in the Suez Canal, preventing circulation in both directions. This was announced on Twitter by Leth Agencies, one of the companies that worked during the night to remove the container ship, but failed. “After working non-stop throughout the night, the Suez Canal Authority has scheduled another attempt at release for today around 4 pm today,” explained the agency that offers services in the Suez Canal, but also in that of Panama and in the straits of Turkey and Denmark.
Leth Agencies also confirmed that “327 boats are waiting” to be able to pass through the Suez Canal. Of these, “151 are in the Suez Canal”.