I was a US Civilian Mariner (aka merchant marine) for 16 years or so and a licensed officer for the last 4 years. I recently changed professions due to a welcome addition to my family that I can't bear to leave for months at a time! I'm not here to tell you the Ever Given situation isn't meaningful, I think it is. What I can do is tell you what it's like to live and work in the industry, share my training and experience with large ocean going vessels. Basically I'd like to help dispel nonsense so we can all get to the truth and look good doing it!
I just got off work and I'm starting my weekend, so I'll be back to answer any questions after a good sleep.
I used to work for a cargo shipping company, we had a ship run aground in Saudi Arabia. The ship was maybe 1/2 the size of this one, this ship is so huge. It took over a week to get it loose, as I recall.
Yeah... People keep asking how long. There are so many factors and I'm not there... Hard to say.