Ever Given
Container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March 2021.
By 20 March 2026, 22 days into the Hormuz closure, more than 3,000 vessels were stranded across the Middle East: nearly eight times the roughly 400 ships the Ever Given held up at Suez.
Last refreshed: 29 October 2026
Why will Hormuz not clear the way Suez did after the Ever Given?
Timeline for Ever Given
Mentioned in: JMIC warns of renewed mining in Hormuz
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: Seven Ships Cross Hormuz, No Oil Tankers
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: 3,000 vessels stranded in Middle East
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: Maersk suspends Gulf container routes
Iran Conflict 2026Background
The Ever Given is a Panama-flagged container ship, IMO 9811000, completed by Imabari Shipbuilding in 2018. It is about 400 metres long and carries up to 20,124 containers (TEU). Shoei Kisen Kaisha owns it, and Evergreen Marine operates it under a time Charter.
The ship ran aground in the Suez Canal on 23 March 2021 and was refloated on 29 March, after six days that held up hundreds of ships. Egypt held it until 7 July 2021, when a compensation settlement freed it.
That grounding is the usual benchmark for a shipping blockage, and the Hormuz closure has been measured against it. The comparison cuts both ways: Suez cleared in days once the hull moved, while the mine threat in Hormuz has no fixed end.
Ever Given remains a limited benchmark
The Ever Given's six-day grounding in the Suez Canal delayed roughly 400 ships, which made it the obvious yardstick when Hormuz shut. Twenty-two days into the closure, on 20 March 2026, the International Maritime Organisation counted more than 3,000 vessels stranded across the Middle East.
The comparison also marks the limit of the Suez analogy. The Ever Given blocked one canal with one hull, refloated after six days. On 25 October about 492 ships sat outside Hormuz under a renewed mining threat, and Gulf loaders had no sea route around the danger.
What is the IMO number of the Ever Given?
How long did the Ever Given block the Suez Canal?
How does the Hormuz closure compare with the Ever Given?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 29 October 2026. Editorial standards.