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SINGAPORE – Supplies to Singapore and the region may be temporarily disrupted, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Thursday (March 25) after one of the world’s largest container ships got stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking traffic along the critical waterway.
In the event of a supply disruption, existing inventories will need to be reduced, Ong wrote in a Facebook post.
The alternative is for ships coming from Europe and the Middle East to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, located at the southern tip of the African continent, to reach Asia, he added. But this is a longer journey that will take another week or two.
“If the outage continues, PSA may see schedule disruptions when shipping lines redirect their trips. You will have to plan ahead and ensure operations continue smoothly,” Ong said. PSA is a global port operator based in Singapore.
So far, tugs and excavators have failed to dislodge the 224,000 tonnes of the 400-meter-long Ever Given after it ran aground on Tuesday. The ship had lost the ability to maneuver amid strong winds and a dust storm, the Suez Canal Authority said, and the effort to reopen the canal could take several days.
Comparing the Suez Canal, which provides passage for about 10 percent of all global maritime trade, with the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, which supply a third of that trade, Ong said the waterways are closely connected and they link Europe and the Middle East. and Asia.
“Having the Suez blocked is like a big tree falling through the CTE (Central Expressway). All other highways connected to the CTE will be affected,” he said.
“This is another unfortunate incident that illustrates how the world is now so closely intertwined.”
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