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6 days on, Suez Canal still blocked: What we know so far
The MV Ever Given, which is longer than four football fields, has been wedged diagonally across the Suez Canal since Tuesday, blocking it in both directions.
The Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest waterways, continued to remain blocked as a giant container ship is stuck sideways in it hindering global shipping and trade for the sixth day on Sunday.
The 400 metre (430 yard) long Ever Given, which is wedged diagonally across a southern section of the canal, moved slightly as efforts underway to dislodge it allowed its stern and rudder to move, the head of the canal authority told news agency Reuters.
"We expect that at any time the ship could slide and move from the spot it is in," Suez Canal Authority (SCA) chairman Osama Rabie was quoted as saying by Reuters. He added that water had started running underneath the ship.
About 15% of world shipping traffic transits the canal and hundreds of vessels are waiting to pass once the blockage is cleared, the agency reported.
Here’s what we know so far about the Suez Canal blockage:
*The MV Ever Given, which is longer than four football fields, has been wedged diagonally across the canal since Tuesday, blocking it in both directions.
*Rabie on Saturday pointed to the possibility of "technical or human errors" behind the grounding of a huge container ship, which has led to a backlog of over 300 vessels, according to news agency AFP. "Strong winds and weather factors" were not solely responsible, he said adding, there "may have been technical or human errors".
*On being asked by when the vessel may be removed, the Suez canal chief told AFP on Saturday, “We could finish today or tomorrow (Sunday), depending on the ship's responsiveness" to tides.
*Dredgers removed some 20,000 tonnes of sand from around the ship’s bow by Friday, Reuters said and quoted a Dutch firm that is carrying out efforts to move the vessel that it could be freed by the start of next week if heavier tugboats, dredging and a high tide succeed in dislodging it.
*Following the logjam, over 320 ships carrying billions of dollars-worth of cargo are now stalled at either end of the vital shipping lane linking Asia to Europe, according to AFP. Rabie told the agency that Egypt is suffering a loss of some $12-14 million in revenue from the canal for each day it is closed.
*An expert cited by AFP said, "If they don't manage to dislodge it during that high tide, the next high tide is not there for another couple of weeks, and that becomes problematic." Plamen Natzkoff, an expert at VesselsValue added that the stakes are too high for it to take months.
*Shipping rates for oil product tankers have nearly doubled after the stranding of the vessel and disrupted global supply chains threaten costly delays for companies already dealing with Covid-19 restrictions, Reuters said.
