The cargo ship “Ever Date” blocked and blocked traffic in the Suez Canal
Source: Reuters
The massive container ship that crashed in the Suez Canal, stopping traffic on one of the busiest waterways in the world, is still blocked after little progress was made on Wednesday to dislodge the ship.
The ship, called Ever Date, became horizontally embedded in the waterway due to strong winds. Several tugs were sent to the scene to help with the re-floating operation, which can take days.
Around 16.00 ET, a spokesman for Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, who is the ship’s technical manager, said the ship was still inlaid, with re-floating efforts underway.
The huge freight carrier is more than 1,300 feet long and about 193 feet wide. It weighs over 200,000 tons. One end of the ship was embedded in one side of the canal, the other stretching close to the other shore.
The man-made 120-mile waterway is a key point of global trade, connecting a steady stream of goods from east to west.
Everything from consumer goods to car parts to oil flows through its waters.
Nearly 19,000 ships passed through the canal during 2020, for an average of 51.5 per day, according to the Suez Canal Authority. The ship was sailing from China to Rotterdam when it stopped.
Satellite images showed an accumulation of ships at both ends of the waterway as Ever Date stopped the flow of traffic.
The accident comes as the global supply chain is already struggling to keep up with demand. The deficit was most acute in the chip industry, forcing carmakers to suspend operations.