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Suez Canal
Cargo Ship Blockage Impacts Trading Route
History of the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level water way located in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and dividing the African and Asian continents. French diplomate Ferdinand de Lesseps, began construction and led the development of the canal in 1859, eventually joining to two seas in 1869. This grand accomplishment provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe, reducing journey travel time down by 8-10 days. In 2020, this 120.11 mile stretch of canal allowed for over 18,500 vessels to traverse through.
Trading Route
Today, the Suez Canal is among one of the most important and busiest waterways in the entire world, due to its importance in the global trade market. Approximately 12% of total global trade moves through it. With energy exports such as liquified natural gas, Crude oil, and refined oil make up 5% to 10% of global shipments. With an estimated value of up to $400 million an hour in all trade.
The Blockage
Enter The Ever Given (aka Evergreen), a 1,300ft cargo ship that has found itself firmly grounded since March 24, diagonally on both sides of the 656ft canal. Causing a complete blockage and backlog of 367 vessels. Operator of The Ever Given said this was due to high winds from a sandstorm. This issue has in turn forced other operators to either wait, or reroute tanks and containers on an extended voyage around the southern tip of Africa; lasting up to two extra weeks in some instances.
Image from BBC.com
With tugs and other support vessels finding themselves unsuccessful alone in moving the 247,000-ton ship, all focus has shifted towards dredging. Large machines have been deployed to help dig out sand and mud from under the bow of the vessel. In addition, a "suction dredge" had been put in place, providing the ability to move up to 2,000 cubic meters of material every hour. But this alone wont solve the issue. It's going to take more than the combination of dredging, tugs, and weight removal to free this ship.
What to Expect
The shipping delays could impact everything from the clothes you ordered online to electronics, food, and energy supplies. Also causing oil and gas prices to skyrocket. With more than 30 of the waiting ships being oil tankers, the logjam has caused crude oil prices to jump, and an impact on global oil prices appeared inevitable. Shipping experts have warned that a resumption of traffic through the channel could be days, if not weeks away.
Image from www.dailymail.co.uk
Latest Update | Monday 3/29/21 (2pm EST)
After six days of blocking one of the most important trade routes in the world, horns erupted as the 1,300ft cargo ship was finally set free from the shoreline and refloated Monday at 9am. With salvage teams working tirelessly around the clock, the ultimately assistance came Sunday with the help of a full moon and rising tides. While scheduling work around the tides, the salvage teams's first success came after wrenching out the stern (back of the ship) from the shoreline. And later, with the increased buoyancy of the vessel, intense tugging efforts were finally able to dislodged the bow (front of the ship). Allowing the vessel to completely float on its own again.
Image from BBC.com
The Ever Given vessel will now be towed and repositioned to the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal. Once there, it will undergo a technical inspection of its seaworthiness and will decide if the ship can resume its scheduled service. The refloating of the ship means traffic can resume in the Suez Canal. With more than 350 vessels are currently waiting on either side of the canal to pass, experts say it could take up to 10 days to fully clear the backlog of ships.