[ad_1]
Xinhua News Agency, Cairo, March 25 Roundup: Suez Canal congestion crisis continues to add new concerns to the international maritime market
Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Jing Wu Danni
Usama Rabie, president of Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority, said on the 25th that the rescue of a heavy freighter stranded in the Suez Canal is still continuing and the canal is suspended. The exact moment when the stranded freighter will be rescued is still unknown.
On the 23rd, a Panamanian-flag heavy freighter ran aground in the new Suez Canal canal, causing a canal blockade. The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It is located at the key point of the intercontinental belt of Europe, Asia and Africa. About 12% of world trade is transported through this channel.
On March 25, construction machinery was operating at the site where a heavy cargo ship ran aground in Egypt’s Suez Canal. Issued by Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of the Suez Canal Authority)
According to media reports, around 200 ships have been blocked since the freighter ran aground. Analysts believe that if the channel cannot be opened as soon as possible, it could have a major impact on the global maritime market, adding “new concerns” to the shipping industry already facing limited capacity.
Zhang Longxing, director of the petroleum products business department of the Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Trade Center, which has long been engaged in energy industry research, introduced that ships passing through the Suez Canal every day they are mainly container ships with higher load values. . Today, about 25% of the world’s container trade is completed through the Suez Canal.
Zhang Longxing said that after the Suez Canal is blocked, the arrival time of ships can be greatly delayed. In the short term, the shortage of capacity of the world’s container ships will worsen the situation, further increasing freight rates on the Asia-Europe routes.
JPMorgan Chase released a report on the 25th that if a stranded freighter cannot be resolved quickly and properly, there may be a risk of breaking it. Once this happens, the channel is expected to hang for a period of time. The suspension of shipping will further disrupt the global supply chain for container ships and can seriously affect international trade, leading to skyrocketing freight rates and rising global inflation.
This is the scene of a heavy cargo ship stranded in the Suez Canal in Egypt on March 24. Xinhua News Agency
ING noted in a report that the direct impact of the suspension of the Suez Canal will be concentrated on Eurasian trade.
Regarding the international supply of crude oil that concerns the market, industry experts noted that the Suez Canal has a high freight rate and that the transportation of crude oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe by sea often chooses to divert the Cape of Good Hope. Therefore, the blockade of the Suez Canal has a relatively limited impact on the global maritime trade in crude oil.
Julius Baer believes that most of the “noise” caused by the Suez Canal freighter stranding in the crude oil market is “noise” and will not have a sustained impact on fundamentals.
After the price of international crude oil futures fell on the night market, it fluctuated even more in early trading on the 25th and fell significantly at the close.
【Correction error】
【Editor in charge: Zhou Chuqing】
