A cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal as a “beached whale” could take weeks off, the rescue company said, as officers stopped all ships that entered the Thursday channel in a new setting for global trade.
The 400 m (430 yards) ever provided, almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall, impedes movement across all sides through one of the busiest shipping channels in the world for oil and grain and other trade linking Asia and Europe.
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The MV Ever Given was hit by strong winds and landed in the Suez Canal
(Photo: EPA)
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said eight tubs were working to move the vessel, which was stopped abruptly over the one-way south stretch of the canal Tuesday morning amid high winds and a dust storm.
“We cannot rule out that it may take weeks, depending on the situation,” Peter Berdowski, CEO of the Dutch company Boskalis which is trying to free the ship, told the program Dutch television “Nieuwsuur”.
One of the waterways, according to tracking data, forms 206 large lifeboats, oil and gas-carrying tankers, and large grain-hauling vessels, supported at each end of the waterway. Worst shipping tags seen in years.
The hurdle comes in addition to the global trade turmoil already caused in the past year by COVID-19, with trade volumes hit by high levels of volatility. boat delays, ship shortages and slower handling speeds at ports.
The SCA, which allowed some vessels to enter the waterway in hopes of clearing the barrier, said it stopped all traffic Thursday. The shipping giant Maersk said in a mission adviser that it affected seven ships.
Berdowski said the bow and stern of the ship were built against each side of the canal.
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The 400-meter vessel, 224,000 tons of Ever Given, chartered by Evergreen Marine Corp. in Taiwan, will block Egypt’s Suez Canal as seen via satellite
(Photo: Reuters)
“It’s like a big whale with a carriage. There is a lot of pressure on the sand. We may have to work with a combination of weight reduction by removing vessels, oil and water from the boat, boats sand pulling and scraping. “
Scrapers worked to clear sand and mud from around him while tugboats in conjunction with Ever Given winches worked to move him, said the ship’s technical manager, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM).
Another officer with experience of the work said it was likely to take days. “If you end up with the situation that you have to remove goods you are looking at an exercise that will give you time,” he said, refusing to mention.
About 30% of the world’s shipping volumes pass through the Suez Canal 193 km (120 miles) per day, and about 12% of the total global trade of all goods.
Shipping experts say if the barrier is not cleared in the coming days, some shipping may go back around Africa, which added about a week to the voyage.
“Every port in western Europe is going to feel this,” said Leon Willems, a consideration for the Port of Rotterdam, the largest in Europe. “We hope for both companies and customers that it will be resolved soon. When these vessels arrive in Europe, longer waiting times are inevitable.”
Councilor Wood MacKenzie said the biggest impact was on shipping, but also that 16 tankers of crude oil and production were to sail through the canal and were now delayed.
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On-deck view of the carrier MV Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal
The tankers were carrying 870,000 tonnes of crude and 670,000 tonnes of clean oil products such as gasoline, naphtha and diesel, he said.
Russia and Saudi Arabia are the two main oil exports through the waterway, with India and China being the main imports, oil analysis firm Vortexa said. Councilor Kpler said the canal accounted for only 4.4% of total oil flows but that prolonged unrest would disturb Russian and Caspian oil flows to Asia and oil from the Middle East into Europe.
Holger Loesch, deputy managing director of the German BDI industry association, raised concerns, saying earlier shipping holdups were affecting production, especially in industries based on raw materials or construction materials.
About 16% of German chemical imports come by boat through the Suez canal and the chief economist for the association of German chemical producers and VCI pharmaceutical manufacturers, Henrik Meincke, said they would be affected every day of inhibition.
Japanese boat owner Shoei Kisen apologized for the incident and said work on freeing the ship, which was bound for Europe from China, had “been very difficult” and it was not clear when the ship would sail again.
The owner and insurers oppose claims of millions of dollars even if the vessel is quickly refurbished, industry sources said Wednesday. Shoei Kisen said she is the shell insurer of MS&AD Insurance Group while the liability insurer is the UK P&I Club.
The ship’s GPS signal shows only small changes located over the past 24 hours.
Two professional rescue teams from the Netherlands and Japan will work with local authorities to devise a more efficient plan to refurbish the vessel, the company that leases it said, Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine Corp. said.