A giant container ship that become lodged sideways in the Suez Canal has caused delays in global shipping traffic which could reverberate for months, the BBC News website reports. The Ever Given cargo vessel is 400m long and weighs 200,000 tonnes, and was carrying 18,300 containers when it became stuck.
After being stranded for six days, the Ever Given was finally refloated on March 29 with the help of 14 tug boats. However, there is a backlog of around 300 ships waiting for passage along the Suez Canal. About 12% of global trade normally passes through the 120-mile-long canal, including one million barrels of oil every day.
Shipping journal Lloyd’s List estimates that the stranded ship was holding up $9.6bn of trade each day. Some ships have rerouted around the southern tip of Africa, which adds around 8 days to the journey.
The containerised freight supply chain was already struggling with increased demand and pandemic-related restrictions before the blockage, and it is feared that there will be a fresh scramble as carriers search for berth in ports. James Hookham, secretary-general of the Global Shippers’ Forum, commented:
“The champagne cork has suddenly popped open and I think we’re going to see similar pressure brought to bear on northwest European and US east coast ports. I think the lines have learned from last year that there needs to be greater interaction with ports to try to manage this, rather than just turn up and queue.”
As UK shops prepare to reopen, it is feared that summer stock such as garden furniture will be stuck in containers which are unable to be offloaded. However, it is thought the UK will be in a more favourable position than much of mainland Europe, which is heading into new lockdowns as a third wave of coronavirus sweeps the continent.
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