Suez Canal: epic mission to free Ever Given ship sparks flood of memes, jokes
- Tiny tugboats, excavators and a dredger are making a valiant attempt to move the Ever Given, which is longer than four football fields
- Shoei Kisen, the Japanese owner of the grounded ship, says it is aiming to refloat the tanker this weekend
Elements of global commerce have been brought to a standstill, but no one was hurt, and the environment is so far undamaged.
The lack of stakes surrounding the ground of the Ever Given – which is longer than four football fields – has made it a prime target for jokes.
Nine tugboats attempted to move the 400-metre tanker while getting some help from the shore with two workers and a digger clawing into the sandy embankment where the Ever Given’s bow is dug in.
Images of them – dwarfed by the hull of the monster they were trying to dig out – circulated with comments on Twitter such as “these two guys and their digger are currently trying to save global trade”.
A person opened a Twitter account @SuezDiggerGuy, “Guy With the Digger at Suez Canal”, with a profile that read: “Trying my best. No promises.” It had garnered more than 18,000 followers as of Friday afternoon.
Its timeline was replete with observations such as, “Thinking of naming my digger, Ever Digging” and bemoaning having his leave rescinded by managers.
