The lodged 200,000-ton cargo ship Ever Given has finally been freed in Suez Canal, after the vessel had blocked one of the world’s busiest routes accounting for 12% of global trade. However, there is no word on when traffic will resume and the disruption to commerce will not be immediately relieved.
Massive Cargo Ship Finally Dislodged in Suez Canal
The container ship Ever Given, a massive 200,000-ton cargo ship that is as nearly long as the Empire State Building is tall (400m), has finally been dislodged after running aground nearly a week ago.
On Sunday, the ship had been corrected by 80%, according to the Suez Canal Authority, the BBC reported. Then on Monday, and a new report, the BBC said that the ship had finally been loosed free. A statement was not immediately clear when full traffic through the canal could resume.
After the ship was dislodged, tugboats towed the massive vessel to a location outside of the channel for further inspection.
Disruption to Global Trade Will Not Immediately Be Relieved
The re-floating of the Ever Given will not bring immediately relief from the disruption to global trade, which will continue, according to Lloyd’s List. Currently, there are over 370 ships still in a holding pattern waiting to pass through the canal. The vessels include container ships, bulk carriers, and tankers. Experts say clearing the backlog of waiting maritime traffic will take several days.
For those not waiting, numerous ships had already left the congested waterway, opting to take the alternative and longer route around the southern tip of Africa. In addition, traffic is likely to be heavy in those other shipping lanes from other vessels, traveling from East Asia to Europe, that had decided not to risk the backup at the Suez Canal and also take the longer route around South Africa.
The Effect of the Suez Canal Blockage on World Trade
According to data from Lloyd’s list, the blockage held up $9.6 billion of goods each day at a cost of roughly $400 million per hour.
The Suez Canal provides the shortest link for moving goods from Asia to Europe by sea. For comparison, moving goods using the longer route of southern Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope, adds roughly 9 extra days of shipping time, assuming an average ship speed of 16.43 knots. Using the Suez Canal, the route of about 10,000 nautical miles takes approximately 25.5 days. Taking the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope is 13,500 nautical miles and takes approximately 34 days.
