French factual network RMC Découverte has commissioned a quick-turnaround documentary about the Suez Canal blockage from local prodco Factual Factory and UK distributor BossaNova.

Stuck In The Suez — Dredging a Supersize Cargo Ship is an hour-long doc from French factual indie Factual Factory, with funding from BossaNova, which was set up by former Cineflix Rights and TCB Media Rights founder Paul Heaney last year.

The doc was ordered by RMC Networks and is exec produced by Factual Factory’s global head of documentaries Rodolphe Guignard with BossaNova taking worldwide distribution rights.

The documentary investigates the origins of the chaos that ensued when the Ever Given, one of the world’s largest cargo ships transporting 20,000 containers through one of the most important waterways on the planet, was hit by a sandstorm.

Stuck in the mud and sand, the 400m-long vessel instantly brought much of the world’s global trade to a halt, with hundreds of ships backed up on either side, creating a log-jam with a daily price tag estimated at US$10bn.

The film chronicles every step of the dramatic rescue, weaving together archival footage, CGI and interviews with those who were on the front lines and how an innovative combination of technology and brute force ultimately saved the day.