A cargo container ship roughly the size of the Empire State Building has been wedged sideways in the middle of the Suez Canal in Egypt since Tuesday, blocking the passage of more than 100 vessels laden with oil and goods destined for ports around the world.
Attempts to dislodge the Japanese-owned ship, known as the Ever Given, remained unsuccessful as of Friday morning, and officials warned it could take days or even weeks to dredge out the container vessel — the ramifications of which could disrupt the world’s maritime shipping industry.
Here’s a look at what’s going on in the canal and why it matters.
Where is the Suez Canal and why is it significant?
The Suez Canal in Egypt separates Africa from Asia, and is one of the busiest trade routes in the world. The canal, a 120-mile-long passage, connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, offering a shortcut worth about 10 days of sailing time, sparing vessels from having to go around the horn of Africa. The canal handles about 10 percent of all global trade, and more than 50 ships pass through it on an average day.
How did the vessel get stuck and what’s being done about it?
Poor visibility and high winds from a heavy sandstorm are believed to have pushed the vessel off course and led to its grounding Tuesday evening. The Ever Given is one of the world’s largest container ships at about 1,300 feet long and roughly 200,000 metric tons, and is proving difficult to dislodge. The ship was headed to the Netherlands when it ran aground, roughly 3.7 miles north of the canal’s southern mouth.
Salvagers have tried using tugboats and dredging underneath the vessel, all proving unsuccessful. The ship’s technical manager said Thursday that a specialized suction dredger had arrived to help dig it out. Salvagers may also need to extract fuel or pump out water from the ship’s tanks to make it lighter. Some marine experts also said a seasonal high tide expected on Sunday or Monday could add roughly 18 inches of depth to the canal, potentially helping to float the ship.
Late Thursday, Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on its Facebook page that it needed to remove between 530,000 to 706,000 cubic feet of sand, reaching a depth of 29 to 52 feet, to free the ship.
What are the ramifications if the ship can’t be moved?
There are currently a total of 156 ships waiting at both ends of the Suez Canal -- vessels are unable to move in either direction -- and the Ever Given is blocking the flow of an estimated $12 billion in goods.
According to Lloyd’s List, a shipping journal, goods worth $9.6 billion pass through the canal every day, and about $5.1 billion of that traffic is westbound, and $4.5 billion is eastbound.
Around 10 percent of world trade flows through the canal, which is particularly crucial for the transport of oil and gas from the Mideast to Europe.
According to the World Shipping Council, the Suez Canal’s daily vessel throughput capacity is 106. If the canal is closed for two days, which it has been, it will then take two additional days after re-opening to clear the backlog. The longer the delay, the longer it will take to move out the vessels, sounding the alarm that global shipping deliveries could face significant delays and supply chains could be stretched.
What are the queued vessels carrying?
Ships are carrying everything from oil, cement, and raw materials, to consumer goods like clothing, furniture, exercise equipment, and auto parts.
How is this affecting the global shipping and supply industry?
The backlog of vessels will create a shipping pause that will have an effect on supply chains that rely on precise deliveries of goods.
According to the Associated Press: The delays could stress European ports and the international supply of containers, which are already strained by the surge in orders sparked by coronavirus pandemic. The delays will also prevent empty shipping containers from being returned to Asia, adding to the region’s already strained container shortage.
In the US, consumers will feel less direct impact from the blockage, as most goods from Asia are shipped to this country over the Pacific Ocean, bypassing the blockages in the Suez Canal. Still, imports from Europe may be delayed.
A chief economist at Moody’s Analytics said the canal blockage likely won’t have that much impact on the US or global economies unless it drags on for weeks or months.
Material from Globe wire services was used in this report.
Brittany Bowker can be reached at brittany.bowker@globe.com. Follower her on Twitter @brittbowker.
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A quarter-mile-long cargo ship is still stuck in the Suez Canal. Here’s why that matters - The Boston Globe
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