Suez Canal: Syria ‘s’ ration’ fuel will fail as efforts to free boat fail; Suez Canal

Syrian authorities say they have begun rationing fuel while the Suez canal block was extended into the sixth day, delaying critical loads and reducing the country’s oil shortage.

Syria has been at war since 2011 and is facing a severe economic crisis. They had already announced a more than 50% rise in the price of petrol in mid-March.

Global supply chains have sunk since Tuesday when the largest carrier ever landed and ran out across the canal, blocking the emergency waterway on all sides. .

Contrary to earlier claims that there were windstorms behind the coast, Suez Canal Authority chief Osama Rabie said on Saturday: “Strong winds and weather factors were not the main reasons for setting up the ship , there may have been technical or human errors. “

He hopes to rehabilitate the vessel within days, but so far the days of scraping, digging and tugboat pushing have not been successful.

Rabie said the longer the skyscraper size ever lasted, the more the load had to be reduced by using cranes, a strategy that experts have said is the rescue effort could be extended by weeks.

More than 300 boats are now pumping water at each end of the canal, which connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

The Syrian oil ministry said Saturday that a trade route blockade had affected oil imports and delayed a ship carrying fuel and oil products from the Iranian government.

Awaiting resolution, “the ministry is limiting the distribution of available oil products” to ensure continuity of essential services, such as bakery and hospitals, the ministry’s statement said.

Oil minister Bassam Tomeh told state TV that the cargo was expected to arrive at the port of Banias on Friday. He said that if the obstacle stood at the canal, the vessel could go back around southern Africa, an expensive group would have to consider it as a result of the blockage.

Before the Syrian war, the country had comparable energy independence, but in the past decade about $ 91.5bn in revenue has been lost from hydrocarbons, the Syrian oil minister said in February.

Pre-war production was 400,000 barrels per day, compared to just 24,000 in 2019.

Up to 80,000 barrels per day would come from Kurdish areas outside government control, where more than 90% of the country’s reserves are located.

The Syrian government has blamed the economic crisis on western sanctions and the impact of a financial catastrophe in nearby Lebanon, which had long been an economic lifeline. in Syria long ago.

Le Agence France-Presse

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