- Maritime traffic tracking sites say stern of the boat has moved away from the canal’s western bank; unclear when channel will reopen
By TOI staff and Agencies, March 29, 2021
The giant ship clogging the Suez Canal for nearly a week was dislodged from the banks of the key trade route early on Monday morning and is now afloat, a global shipping company reported.
The MV Ever Given, longer than four football fields, had been wedged diagonally across the canal since last Tuesday, towering over nearby palm trees and strangling world supply chains.
Inchcape Shipping tweeted that the ship was “successfully re-floated.”
“She is being secured at the moment,” the company said. “More information about next steps will follow once they are known.”
Maritime traffic tracking sites Vesselfinder and myshiptracking both said the stern of the boat has moved away from the canal’s western bank.
There was no immediate confirmation of the development or indication of when the Suez Canal would reopen to traffic and end the maritime traffic jam, which is costing the global economy billions.
The crisis has forced companies to choose between waiting or rerouting vessels around Africa, which adds a huge fuel bill, 9,000 kilometers (5,500 miles) and over a week of travel to the trip between Asia and Europe.
Each day of the blockade could be costing global trade some $6-10 billion, according to a study published Friday by German insurer Allianz.
That translates to some 0.2 to 0.4 percentage points of annual trade growth each week.
And with over 300 ships and billions of dollars-worth of cargo now stalled at the entrances to the Suez Canal, many operators have already rerouted vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.
Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chief Osama Rabie on Saturday said “technical or human errors” could have led to the grounding of the Taiwan-run, Panama-flagged container ship near the southern end of the 193-kilometer (120-mile) long canal.
Some 369 ships are currently stalled as they wait for the canal to reopen, Rabie told the Al-Arabiya news channel Sunday.
Egypt is losing some $12-14 million in revenue from the canal for each day it is closed, Rabie added, while Lloyd’s List has said the blockage is holding up an estimated $9.6 billion-worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe.
Russia offered assistance Sunday, following other countries including the United States that have made similar offers.