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The Suez Canal remains blocked after the large container ship Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday, leaving more than 230 ships waiting to cross the passage between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, which has caused millions in losses for maritime transport, 10% of which transits this way.
The Egyptian authorities continue their work to try to unblock the gigantic 400-meter-long ship with more than 200,000 tons of capacity, supported by the Japanese company Shoei Kisen, owner of the boat, which aims to unload the boat tomorrow, Saturday.
However, there are fears that the blockage will last for days or even weeks with the economic cost that it supposes for the dozens of stopped boats and for the companies that do not receive the merchandise in destination.
Unblock the EVER GIVEN
The Suez Canal Authority reported this Friday that 87% of the work has been completed to delimit the Ever Given and some 17,000 cubic meters of sand have been removed, thanks to the dredge called “Mashhur”.
The machine began to excavate yesterday at a distance of 100 meters from the bow of the ship and today it is located at about 15 meters, and also reached a depth of 15 meters, the Authority detailed in a statement.
Despite the fact that it will not be able to approach more than 10 meters for safety, the managing authority assured that “land collapses” will occur after removing the bulk of the sand that surrounds the bulb.
While several unsuccessful attempts have been made to move the container ship with the tugs “Baraka 1” and “Ezzat Adel”, two additional tugs will join operations on March 28, according to the cargo management company, multinational Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement ( BSM).
Every day that the huge ship remains stranded, more ships are stranded. (Photo: EFE)
In a statement sent to Efe, assured that a team from the company assigned to support operations, called Smit Salvage, is on the ground and stressed that the efforts are focused on remove sand and mud on the bow part, and that it will also proceed to pump water to lower levels in some points.
The Ever Given was stranded on a canal bank and crossed in the southern section at kilometer 151 due to strong winds and lack of visibility due to a sandstorm that hit Egypt earlier this week.
BOATS IN TAIL
Every day that passes, more ships are anchored at the north and south entrances of the canal waiting to be able to cross it: this Friday they are already 237, according to the company Leth Agencies, which offers logistics services in various channels and straits of the world.
Most of the vessels, 107, are in the Suez area, where the port is congested and have had to anchor in the gulf between mainland Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, as can be seen in satellite images .
According to data from Leth Agencies, of the total number of boats stopped, 64 are ships of different products, in addition to 22 tankers and 53 container shipsThe canal being one of the preferential routes for goods between Europe and Asia.
However, already a container ship has chosen to avoid the Suez Canal and encircle the African continent, despite the fact that it takes several more days of navigation: it is the Ever Greet, “brother” of Ever Given also from Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen, according to the analysis service Lloyd’s List, based in London.
MILLIONAIRES LOSES
Lloyd’s further calculated that blocking the canal causes a withholding of merchandise worth about $ 9.6 billion per day, with traffic to the west valued at 5.1 billion dollars and to the east, 4.5 billion dollars a day.
On the other hand, a report prepared by analysts from the French insurer Euler Hermes, a subsidiary of the German group Allianz, estimated that the closing the canal could cost between $ 6 billion and $ 10 billion (between 5,100 and 8,500 million euros) a day to world trade.
In addition, would subtract between 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points per week from the expected growth in trade exchanges in 2021 and represents “the last straw” in the interruptions of the supply chains registered since the beginning of the year due to problems such as the shortage of containers or semiconductors.
Also the agency Moody’s highlighted that the blockade of the channel “couldn’t have happened at a worse time” since supply chains are “highly vulnerable” due to the global situation, marked by the coronavirus pandemic.
At 400 meters in length from bow to stern, the Ever Given fills global maritime trade with concern. (Photo: EFE)
