EN Desk International

Giant Ship blocking Suez Canal takes longer to shift

A handout picture released by the Suez Canal Authority on March 25, 2021 shows Egyptian tug boats trying to free Taiwan-owned cargo MV Ever Given (Evergreen), a 400-metre- (1,300-foot-)long and 59-metre wide vessel, lodged sideways and impeding all traffic across the waterway of Egypt's Suez Canal. - Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said it was "temporarily suspending navigation" until refloating of the MV Ever Given ship was completed on one of the busiest maritime trade routes. (Photo by - / various sources / AFP)

The Suez Canal is known to be a critical shipping artery that links the Mediterranean and Red Seas through Egypt. On Tuesday, it has been blocked after a large cargo ship ran aground while passing through it, bringing traffic to a halt on the busy trade route. In order to understate disruption to global trade, Egypt is now diverting ships to an older channel. The blockage in Suez Canal has already led to a long queue of vessels waiting to cross it. The Suez Canal, which is a human-made waterway, is one of the most heavily used shipping lanes in the world, carrying over 12 per cent of world trade by volume. Built in the year 1869, Suez Canal provides a major shortcut for ships moving between Asia and Europe. Before its construction, the ships had to sail around Africa to finish the same journey.

According to a report, the vessel that is blocking Suez Canal is the ever given. It is a Panama-registered container ship that is on its way from China to Rotterdam. Due to a mishap caused by bad weather, the 2018-built vessel, which is 400 metres long and 59 metres wide, got stuck here. While passing northwards through the canal on Tuesday morning local time to enter the Mediterranean Sea, the ship weighing 2 lakh tones ran around. It got stuck sideways across Suez Canal, blocking the path of other ships waiting to cross through on both sides. A Taiwanese transport firm- Evergreen Marine, that operates the ship, said that none of the crew members was injured.

According to a maritime historian,  incidents like this are rare, but when this happen, it can have massive complications for global trade. The Ever Given ship is the largest vessel to go aground in the Suez Canal. Now, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is trying to refloat the ship utilizing rescue and tug units. Besides, diggers are also trying to free Ever Given from the canal’s bank, where it is lodged.

The effort to remove the ship as well as make the canal again fully functional could take several days. A daylong blockage could have a severe impact on global trade since the alternative route between Asia and Europe around Africa is a week slower than the Suez route. Any such delay could also result in a shortage of container vessels and boxes, as 30 per cent of all container ships in the world pass through Suez Canal.