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In Suez Canal, Tides Rise and Fall, Salvagers Toil, but Ship Remains Stuck
A new tugboat has joined the ranks of those struggling to free the giant cargo ship blocking the crucial Suez Canal maritime route. Syria, citing the blockage, rations fuel, and Lebanon warns of a similar problem.
With the costs of the closure of one of the world’s most vital maritime arteries growing by the day, salvage teams hoped on Sunday to take advantage of the full moon and swelling tides to dislodge the giant cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal.
Late Saturday, tugboat drivers sounded their horns in celebration of the most visible sign of progress since the ship ran aground late Tuesday:
The 220,000-ton Ever Given had moved.
Granted, it did not go far — just two degrees, or about 100 feet, according to shipping officials. But that came on top of progress in the days before, when canal officials said dredgers had managed to dig out the rear of the ship, freeing its rudder.
By Saturday afternoon, they had dredged 18 meters down into the canal’s eastern bank. But officials cautioned that the ship’s bow remained firmly planted in the soil and that the operation still faced significant hurdles.
The company that oversees the ship’s operations and crew, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said a dozen tugboats were helping, the latest a specialist tug registered in the Netherlands, the ALP Guard, arrived on the scene on Sunday.
“Further attempts to refloat the vessel will continue this evening once the tug is safely in position along with the 11 tugs already on site,” the company said.
Several dredgers, including a specialized suction dredger that can extract 2,000 cubic meters of material per hour, were digging around the vessel’s bow, the company said.
Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, said that water had started running underneath the vessel. “We expect that at any time the ship could slide and move from the spot it is in,” he told a news conference on Saturday.
Salvagers are determined to free the vessel this weekend, but their best chance may be on Monday, when a spring tide will raise the canal’s water level as much as 18 inches, analysts and shipping agents said.
It is a delicate mission. Salvage crews are trying to move the ship without unbalancing it or breaking it apart.
With the ship sagging in the middle, its bow and stern both caught in positions for which they were not designed, the hull is vulnerable to stress and cracks, according to experts. Just as every high tide brings hope the ship can be released, each low tide puts new stresses on the vessel.
Teams of divers have been inspecting the hull throughout the operation and have found no damage, officials said.
The ship’s manager said that in addition to the tugboats and dredgers, high-capacity pumps will draw water from the vessel’s ballast tanks to lighten the ship.
But with each passing day, the situation is bringing global supply chains closer to a full-blown crisis.
Vessels packed with the world’s goods — including cars, oil, livestock and laptops — usually flow through the waterway with ease, supplying much of the globe as they traverse the quickest path from Asia and the Middle East to Europe and the East Coast of the United States.
Some ships have already decided not to wait, U-turning to take the long way around the southern tip of Africa, a voyage that could add weeks to the journey and mean more than $26,000 a day in fuel costs.
If the Ever Given breaks free by Monday, the shipping industry can absorb the inconvenience, analysts said, but beyond that, supply chains and consumers could start to see major disruptions.
From the deck of a tugboat in the Suez Canal, where the Egyptian authorities allowed journalists to glimpse the salvage operation for the first time on Saturday, the Ever Given looked like a fallen skyscraper, lights ablaze.
Three boats that barely reached halfway up the word EVERGREEN painted on the ship’s side, for its Taiwan-based operator, had nosed up to its starboard side, keeping it stable.
A powerful tugboat sat near the ship’s stern, waiting for the next attempt to push and pull it out.
Together, the armada of tugboats — their engines churning with the combined power of tens of thousands of horses — have been pushing and pulling at the Ever Given for days.
Late Saturday, there was a brief celebration when the tugboats managed to move the 1,300-foot ship. The tugboats let the horns blow, hopeful that they could build on their progress when the high tide returned on Sunday, when the increased water level could help the ship break free.
With the ship too heavy for tugboats alone, the effort on the water was being aided by teams on land, where cranes that look like playthings in the shadow of the hulking cargo ship have been scooping mountains of earth from the area where the ship’s bow and stern are wedged tight.
As the dredgers worked, a team of eight Dutch salvage experts and naval architects overseeing the operation were surveying the ship and the seabed and creating a computer model to help it work around the vessel without damaging it, said Capt. Nick Sloane, a South African salvage master who led the operation to right the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that capsized in 2012 off the coast of Italy.
If the tugboats, dredgers and pumps cannot get the job done, they could be joined by a head-spinning array of specialized vessels and machines requiring perhaps hundreds of workers: small tankers to siphon off the ship’s fuel, the tallest cranes in the world to unload containers one by one and, if no cranes are tall enough or near enough, heavy-duty helicopters that can pick up containers of up to 20 tons — though no one has said where the cargo would go. (A full 40-foot container can weigh up to 40 tons.)
All this because, to put it simply: “This is a very big ship. This is a very big problem,” said Richard Meade, the editor in chief of Lloyd’s List, a maritime intelligence publication based in London.
“I don’t think there’s any question they’ve got everything they need,” he said. “It’s just a question of, it’s a very big problem.”
Sources:nytimes
Popular Bible app YouVersion says it has seen more people engage with the Bible this year than ever before, drawing closer to God through His Word and through prayer features on the app.
Developers of the Bible app point out the most popular verse from 2024 reveals that people have been seeking God’s comfort in tumultuous times.
This year, the most searched scripture was Philippians 4:6. It reads: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
YouVersion Founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald believes it shows that people are more likely to turn to God when they face anxiety and daily struggles.
“In many cases, our anxiety comes from holding onto worries that we aren’t meant to carry,” said Gruenewald. “To me, this verse being sought out the most this year is an illustration that our community is seeking God in prayer and choosing to trust Him to carry their burdens—and we’re seeing that supported in the data.”
The YouVersion app was designed to encourage and challenge people to seek God throughout each day. It offers a free Bible experience in more than 2,170 languages and has been installed on more than 875 million unique devices.
“I was just trying to figure out how to use technology to help people read the Bible more consistently. And just had enough faith to start, to try something, and of course, what we’ve seen God do is incredible. Our faith has grown, but in the very beginning had no idea what it was going to become,” Gruenewald previously told CBN News.
Praying for Peace
Seeking peace through God’s Word is not the only thing that has increased this year.
YouVersion also saw increased interest in prayer around the world.
The words “prayer” and “peace” were among the top in-app search terms this year and the app’s YouVersion Prayer features went up by 46% this year compared to last year.
The YouVersion’s Prayer Team volunteers responded to prayer requests in 20 languages and prayed for concerns involving finances, healing, family, marriage, and anxiety.
The group has partnered with 24-7 Prayer International to facilitate “an unbroken chain of prayer, every hour of the day and night” among churches in more than 65 countries.
This year, they saw a 37% increase in the number of 24-7 Prayer Rooms they’re supporting.
“Throughout 2024, we have seen a rise in the number of people dedicating themselves to night and day prayer in different nations around the world,” said Carla Harding, International Director of Products for 24-7 Prayer International. “Our hope is that through continual prayer, the global church would be ignited in the presence of God and carry His love with greater compassion and power to the communities around them.”
Global Trends
It was a good year for YouVersion for another reason–more people engaged with the scriptures through their smartphones and tablets than ever before.
Every month of 2024 became the highest month in YouVersion for both app installs and daily use.
Across its Family of Apps—which includes Bible App, Bible App Lite, and Bible App for Kids—YouVersion saw an average of 11.2 million new device installs per month and about 14 million people engaging in the Bible every day.
Regional Momentum
YouVersion has also had a major impact in many countries around the world.
Bible engagement is growing at a fast rate in Central Africa (54%) and Eastern Africa (56%), compared to last year.
Countries like South Sudan (82%), Angola (68%), Mozambique (55%), Guinea (50%), Nigeria (35%), and Algeria (35%), saw a rise in daily Bible use in 2024.
YouVersion’s Bible App for Kids has also seen a big boost.
Nigeria, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire experienced the biggest engagement spikes among kids in Africa this year.
YouVersion is also seeing sustained growth in Latin America.
Many countries across the region saw a surge in daily Bible use, including growth in Nicaragua (107%), Venezuela (74%), Bolivia (52%), Honduras (50%), Cuba (45%), and Argentina (30%).
The Bible app is moving forward with plans to launch its first-ever Regional Hub in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in support of the roughly one million Brazilians opening the Bible App every day.
YouVersion’s goal for its Regional Hubs is to have a local team recruit content partners and churches to create a more authentic and regionally relevant Bible experience that helps people better connect with God’s Word on a personal level.
“It’s encouraging to see people throughout the YouVersion Community, in every region of the world, engage with the Bible at such high levels,” said Gruenewald. “These Bible engagement trends highlight the commonalities that can be found throughout the global Church—in the struggles we face and in our need for God.”
As CBN News reported, sales of physical, paper Bibles are also up 22% this year.
According to The Wall Street Journal,13.7 million copies were sold in the first 10 months of this year, compared to 14.2 million for all of 2023. Experts expect the total number to outpace last year once they tabulate November and December Bible sales.
Dr. John Plake, chief program officer at the American Bible Society, told CBN News why he thinks so many people, especially Gen Z, are engaging with the Word of God.
“They’re leaning into the Bible,” he shared. “They’re really trying to engage in their faith and they are kind of a bright hope for us as a young generation of American adults.”
Sources:CBN News
വാഷിംഗ്ടണ് ഡിസി: കഴിഞ്ഞ വർഷത്തെ അപേക്ഷിച്ച് ബൈബിൾ വിൽപ്പനയിൽ 22% വർദ്ധനവുണ്ടായതായി പ്രമുഖ മാധ്യമമായ ‘വാള് സ്ട്രീറ്റ് ജേണല്’. 2023ലെ വിൽപ്പനയുമായി താരതമ്യം ചെയ്യുമ്പോൾ ഒക്ടോബർ അവസാനം വരെയുള്ള ബൈബിൾ വിൽപ്പനയിൽ 22% വർദ്ധനവാണ് രേഖപ്പെടുത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നതെന്ന് ബുക്ക് സെയിൽ ട്രാക്കർ എന്നറിയപ്പെടുന്ന ‘ബുക്ക്സ്കാൻ’ പുറത്തുവിട്ട കണക്കുകളെ ഉദ്ധരിച്ചുള്ള റിപ്പോര്ട്ടില് പറയുന്നു.
2022-നെ അപേക്ഷിച്ച് കഴിഞ്ഞ വർഷം ഒക്ടോബർ അവസാനത്തോടെ, ബൈബിൾ വിൽപ്പന 1% ഉയർന്നിട്ടുണ്ടെന്നും കണക്കില് പറയുന്നു. ആദ്യമായി ബൈബിൾ വാങ്ങുന്നവരാണ് ഇതില് ഭൂരിഭാഗമെന്നതു ശ്രദ്ധേയമാണ്. അമേരിക്കയില് ബൈബിൾ വിൽപ്പന 22% വർദ്ധിച്ചപ്പോള് മൊത്തം യു.എസ് പ്രിൻ്റ് ബുക്ക് വിൽപ്പന 1% ൽ താഴെ മാത്രമാണെന്നും റിപ്പോര്ട്ടില് സൂചിപ്പിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.
ആളുകൾ സ്വയം ഉത്കണ്ഠ അനുഭവിക്കുന്നുണ്ടെന്നും മക്കളെയും പേരക്കുട്ടികളെയും കുറിച്ച് അവർ ആശങ്കാകുലരാണെന്നും ഇവാഞ്ചലിക്കൽ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ പബ്ലിഷേഴ്സ് അസോസിയേഷൻ്റെ പ്രസിഡൻ്റായി സേവനമനുഷ്ഠിക്കുന്ന ജെഫ് ക്രോസ്ബി ബൈബിള് വില്പ്പനയിലെ വര്ദ്ധവിനെ ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടി പ്രസ്താവിച്ചു. 2019-ൽ, ബൈബിൾ വിൽപ്പന 9.7 ദശലക്ഷത്തിലെത്തിയിരിന്നു. 2024-ൻ്റെ ആദ്യ 10 മാസങ്ങളിൽ 13.7 ദശലക്ഷത്തിലധികം ബൈബിളാണ് ദശലക്ഷങ്ങളിലേക്ക് എത്തിയതെന്നും കണക്കില് ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടുന്നുണ്ട്.
Bible sales in the US have surged 22% this year, driven by first-time buyers and innovative designs. Publishers attribute the rise to anxiety, a search for hope, and targeted marketing. Despite growing secularization, 13.7 million Bibles were sold in the first 10 months of 2024. Gen Z and younger demographics are increasingly drawn to Bibles for guidance and stability.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം
One pastor from California is extra thankful this year for his training in mixed martial arts.
Pastor Nick Neves of Family First Church in Antioch, a city in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, confronted a would-be thief carrying an ax on Thanksgiving morning last Thursday, after the unnamed intruder broke into the church’s building.
“I shouted at him to stop, and that the police were on their way, and he ran and I grabbed ahold of him and we ended up wrestling in the parking lot of the church,”
When he was first approached by Neves, the unnamed attempted burglar tried fighting the preacher — but he was not very successful.
“I like to stay fit, and I studied in some jujitsu and kickboxing and I have a mixed martial arts background,” said Neves. “So it was very helpful to be able to grapple with this gentleman without having to do much harm to him.”
The pair wrestled for about 15 minutes before the would-be thief gave up until police arrived. Neves said he was able to pin the man to the ground and, although he got up and tried to get away a few times, the pastor never seriously injured the intruder.
“I knew I could outlast him,” the pastor said.
One of the church’s longtime attenders, Jeff Strawther, said the ordeal “could’ve gone in a totally different direction and we thank God that it didn’t,” calling Neves a “very tough” man the church is “grateful” to have as their pastor.
The preacher said it’s “ironic” the burglar attempted to break in to steal things from the church on Thanksgiving Day, especially since his congregation prides itself on providing meals to those in need in their community.
In fact, churchgoers had just given away groceries to 130 families in need earlier in the week.
“If he had come a couple of days earlier, he would have been blessed and get some food and be cared for,” Neves said. “But he decided instead to smash windows and desecrate property and do something that’s going to hurt the ministries.”
The pastor said he hopes this incident serves as a wakeup call to the criminal.
Sources:faithwire
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