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CAIRO (BLOOMBERG) – The gigantic container ship blocking the Suez Canal has been at least partially refloated, the first step to get one of the world’s most important commercial arteries moving again.
The Ever Given was successfully refloated on Monday (March 29) at around 4.30am local time in Egypt and the ship is currently being insured, marine services provider Inchcape Shipping Services said in an email.
A new attempt to evict the ship followed that involved 10 tugs, according to the Suez Canal Authority.
There was no immediate clarity on the crucial question of when traffic on the canal will restart. The ship has a damaged hull and it is unclear how soon it will be able to clear the way for other ships to pass.
Ever Given, which is longer than the width of the canal and crossed the waterway, has been stuck since last Tuesday, causing a backlog of hundreds of ships and global supply lines that were already under pressure.
Rescue teams used tugs and dredgers to remove the ship’s bow from the sandy bank where it was housed for at least 5 m.
Once the vessel has been cleared, authorities will work to allow traffic to resume through the canal that is a conduit for about 12 percent of world trade.
At the latest count, 450 vessels were trapped, waiting or heading for the waterway. Others have diverted to the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.
Shipping experts still anticipate that ocean freight markets that have already stretched will experience even more stress in the coming months due to disrupted schedules and the uneven wave of cargo hitting ports in the future.
“The dominoes have collapsed,” wrote Lars Jensen, CEO of SeaIntelligence Consulting in Copenhagen, on social media over the weekend.
“The delays and route changes that have already occurred will cause a ripple effect on both ships and empty equipment that will be felt for several months.”
Businesses from Ikea to Caterpillar Inc. have been affected by the uproar and thousands of live animals are trapped on boats in the area. Consumer goods, industrial inputs and raw materials, from oil to coffee, are caught in the mess, with Asian exporters and European importers hit the hardest directly.
A rough estimate shows that the blockade costs about $ 400 million (S $ 538 million) per hour, based on Lloyd’s List calculations suggesting that westbound traffic is worth about $ 5.1 billion a day and traffic on eastbound is approximately $ 4.5 billion.
The accident, which occurred as the giant vessel was trying to navigate the canal in high winds and poor visibility, is another reminder of the fragility of global supply chains that have already been tested by the pandemic.
The container industry was already suffering from a supply shortage for the truck-sized boxes that are now trade-critical and operating at full capacity.
The investigation continues into what went wrong when Ever Given tried to navigate the narrow waterway, as well as the unraveling of liability and insurance claims.
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