The lack of communication between the ship’s crew and the navigators was one of the main reasons for the grounding of the containership Ever Given, in March 2021, in the Suez Canal which stranded global maritime transport for six days, according to the report of the Panama Ship Registry.
The ship, 400 meters long, was hit by strong winds on March 23, 2021, wedging itself sideways into the banks of one of the world’s busiest waterways, blocking it until March 29, 2021. It was reported that about 250 merchant ships were waiting in the canal until it reopened, while some container ships chose to sail from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
According to the recommendations to the Suez Canal Authority, all communications should be in English, because conversations in Arabic may cause misunderstandings. It is underlined that the conversations between the crew and the navigators were in English, but the communication between the navigators on the bridge was in Arabic.
