Why Ships Crash

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Priyanga Burford

Alessandra Bonomolo

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Renata Pavelka

Carlo Massarella

Windfall Films Ltd

Why...?: Why Ships Crash

BBC One - Why...?, Why Ships Crash

The inside story of the Ever Given accident, which blocked the Suez Canal.

When the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal, it triggered a global crisis. Featuring eyewitnesses speaking for the first time, this documentary aims to find out what really happened.

On 23 March 2021, the Ever Given – one of the largest container ships ever built – ploughed into the sandy bank of the Suez Canal, blocking the entire waterway. It stopped all traffic in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world for almost a week, causing a ‘ship jam’ of over 300 vessels and delaying deliveries of billions of pounds of vital food, fuel and medical supplies. The disruption to the global supply chain lasted for months.

How did such an advanced ship crash in one of the most closely monitored shipping lanes in the world? How did a team of engineers free the ship in just six days? And who or what is to blame?

Using never-before seen footage, testimony from witnesses speaking for the very first time, and expert analysis, this documentary aims to uncover the inside story of the Ever Given accident. And with over 2,500 shipping incidents a year, the film also asks if this was just a freak accident or whether it reveals a serious weakness in the world’s critical supply chain.

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