Driver of Suez Canal excavator hasn't been paid his overtime, didn't like becoming a meme

After Ever Given wedged in the Suez Canal, the excavator operator Abdullah Abdul-Gawad worked five days and nights without being paid overtime. While speaking to Insider, Abdul-Gawad said that on March 23 his boss had called him to report urgently as he was the only excavator driver who was close enough. The 28-year-old described the “awe-inspiring” scene that faced him at work and said that he and his colleagues worked 21-hour days, barely sleeping and still had not received any overtime pay or recognition. 

Abdul-Gawad told the media outlet that freeing the Ever Given was an international effort, with winches, dredgers, tugboats and excavators. However, the day the ship got stuck, Abdul-Gawad said that Ever Given’s bow was lodged about six metres higher than where the ship ought to have been floating. He said that the ship’s stern was sitting on the opposite bank and the sideways ship was blocking all traffic. 

Abdul-Gawad explained that to approach the base of the vessel, he built a makeshift “bridge” from the rubble he dug up, which allowed him to get closer. He said that while the image of the little excavator gave the world meme fodder, the situation he was stuck in was way less funny and more dangerous. The 28-year-old revealed that he feared destabilizing the ship and having it topple onto him. 

‘I was terrified…’ 

“I was terrified that the ship might list too far to one side or the other," Abdul-Gawad said. Further, he went on to say that two more excavators arrived at the scene a couple of days in, however, their drivers were too apprehensive to do what Abdul-Gawad was doing. The excavator operator said that the two drivers just cleared away the materials near the base after he had dug it out. 

Abdul-Gawad undertook hours of digging, which was then followed by half-hour bursts of the tugboats making an attempt to pull the vessel. He said that when the memes of his excavator had taken the internet by storm, it made him so determined to prove that he can do this. However, he also added that at that moment he didn’t know whether the ship was going to come out or not, but it became a “personal mission” for him. 

As the days passed, Abdul-Gawad said that he and his colleagues grabbed brief moments of rest in a barracks used by border guards working nearby. He said that his team got about three hours of sleep a night, and one night took only one hour. Then, on March 25, Abdul-Gawad said that a specialised dredger boat joined the efforts. And after three more days of combined efforts, they finally succeeded to release Every Given on March 29. 

‘It was an achievement’ 

The 28-year-old said that he and his colleagues were “half-dead” by then. However, after seeing what they had done and the minute they saw the ship sailing off, it was like the “tiredness evaporated” because of the sense of achievement. But Abdul-Gawad said that he had barely been included in the celebrations. 

He revealed that apart from a small ceremony held by one newspaper, he has received almost no official recognition for his role. He said that he was invited to the ceremony where they honoured the people who got the ship out, but it was mainly for Suez Canal Authority employees, which does not include Abdul-Gawad since he works for a subcontractor. Abdul-Gawad said that although he felt like an afterthought, he will still look back on the “extraordinary” days with pride as it was an “achievement” for him. 

(Image: AP/Facebook)