Politics
Blocked Suez Canal could be ‘catastrophic’ & cause oil price spike after ‘mega ship’ is grounded by ‘gust of wind’
A MASSIVE ship stuck in the Suez Canal could cause a “catastrophic” meltdown in world trade and a spike in oil prices.
The 200,000 ton mega-ship Ever Given is currently lying sideways in the canal after its owners said it was grounded by a “gust of wind”.
The Ever Given cargo ship turned sideways in the Suez Canal yesterday morning, blocking all traffic at the busy waterway[/caption]
An aerial photograph shows how the cargo ship is completely stuck in the canal after turning sideways[/caption]
Teams scrambled to dislodge the ship yesterday morning[/caption]
The 1300ft long and 194 ft-wide ran aground in the shipping channel just after 7.40am on Tuesday.
The ship’s Taiwanese operator Evergreen Marine Co said the ship “accidentally ran aground after a suspected gust of wind hit it”.
The blockage caused a pileup of at least 100 ships attempting to enter the narrow shipping channel, which divides continental Africa from the Sinai Peninsula in Northern Egypt.
Millions of barrels of oil are already stuck in ships waiting to enter the canal, giving prices a nudge upwards.
Expert Sal Mercogliano said the effect on world trade, including vaccine supply, could be “catastrophic”.
“Because of Covid, you know how badly things have slowed down with moving goods, and now all of a sudden you add this and you’re going to have a delay getting goods to markets,” he told BBC radio’s Today programme.
“We’re talking about vaccines, manufacturing goods, food, everything. It’s potential catastrophic delays.
“Ten per cent of the world’s trade goes through the Suez Canal and you average about 50 vessels a day and we’re in the second day of not being able to move any vessels.
“Shipping companies are going to have to make a decision fairly soon whether or not to route the vessels around Africa, which adds and additional 12-14 days.”
Dr Mercogliano former merchant mariner and associate professor of history at North Carolinas Campbell University, said the situation of a ship blocking the entire canal has never been faced before.
“There have been groundings on the Suez Canal before but never one of a ship this size or so dramatic – literally shutting the whole canal down by crossing the entire width of the canal,” he said.
He appeared to contradict the owner’s explanation for the incident that a gust of wind blew vessel of course, saying loss of power was probably to blame.
“According to the ship’s agent, the ship lost power,” he said.
“They literally said ship went ‘dark’ and in that scenario they would not only propulsion but also the rudder controls and it appears the vessel veered to the right and went ashore on the eastern bank.
“And because of the length of the vessel, it’s one of the largest ships in the world, she’s an ultra large container vessel, she actually ran aground on the eastern bank. You can see part of her bow is out of the water.”
Pictures show a huge queue of ships at the busy channel[/caption]
A graphic from shipping website Vessel Finder shows how the ship completely blocked the canal, leaving smaller cargo stranded[/caption]
He said that if they ship can’t immediately be re-floated then a more complex operation will begin – but that’s unlikely to be quick.
“If they can’t get her off with tugs they will have to start removing fuel off her and then the containers,” he said.
“But the difficulty with getting the containers off her is that she’s so tall it would be very difficult to get the correct sized cranes in there to get those off.”
Samir Madani from TankerTrackers said that within hours of the blockage, about 10 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum product shipments had backed up at the canal entrances.
“The canal is a key chokepoint for global trade” Madani told the Financial Times.
“If they can free the vessel quickly then the impact will be minimised but any prolonged blockage would have severe consequences, from affecting oil prices and shipping rates to forcing container vessels to take the much longer route around Africa.”
Julianne Cona, who uploaded a picture of the ship to Instagram, said the ship is “super stuck”.
She added: “They had a bunch of tugs trying to pull and push it earlier but it was going nowhere.
“There is a little excavator trying to dig out the bow.”
The ship was on its way from mainland China to Rotterdam when it became stuck.
The Ever Given’s bow was touching the canal’s eastern wall, while its stern looked lodged against its western wall, according to satellite data from MarineTraffic.com.
Most read in World News
Several tug boats surrounded the ship, likely attempting to push it the right way, the data showed.
Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a vital link for oil, natural gas and cargo being shipped from East to West.
Some 19,000 ships passed through the canal last year, according to the Suez Canal Authority.
Evergreen Marine Corp, a Taiwan-based shipping company, said in a statement that the ship had been overcome by strong winds as it entered the canal from the Red Sea[/caption]
