Suez Canal is one of the most crucial waterways in the world. It connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and plays important role in cargo transport.
The critical shipping canal is witnessing a huge traffic jam after a massive ship got stuck recently.
WATCH: A giant container ship is blocking the Suez Canal, potentially choking one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes for days https://t.co/6RAylYpb6h pic.twitter.com/Jup9ahHOoB
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) March 24, 2021
It’s not even possible to imagine how huge the ship is. As per reports, it is 400m long and 59m wide and weighs 2 lakh tonnes. The Panama-registered container ship is on its way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China.
It is being believed that poor visibility and high winds from a sandstorm that struck much of northern Egypt this week could be the reason why the ship lost direction.
Satellite Imagery courtesy of @planetlabs yesterday at 0835UTC appears to show the #EVERGIVEN in situ blocking the #SuezCanal. pic.twitter.com/t0FwORSx1g
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) March 24, 2021
The jam was so huge that more than 100 ships couldn’t move through the canal in either direction as of Wednesday afternoon.
An enormous container ship became stuck while traversing the Suez Canal. By Wednesday, more than 100 ships were stuck at each end of the canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean and carries roughly 10% of worldwide shipping traffic. https://t.co/SKbI2VpD4F pic.twitter.com/F72ftTmzRo
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 24, 2021
Being one of the busiest routes in the world, the Suez Canal controls 10-12% of the global trade. A report by NDTV suggests that this traffic can cost the world $400 million (Rs. 2900 crore) per hour.
UPDATE: The giant ship that blocked the Suez Canal has now been moved alongside the bank of the waterway, potentially easing the disruption to the trade route https://t.co/CI0Zrw1Cq3 pic.twitter.com/8MskJT43RW
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) March 24, 2021
8 tug boats have been deployed to free one of the world’s largest container ship. As per sources, if this doesn’t work out, the ship will have to be dug out.
A skyscraper-sized cargo ship wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal further imperiled global shipping as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear, authorities say. https://t.co/O7CgNUXtRQ
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 25, 2021
A few images show a large excavator standing beside the container ship and it looks like a toy. This will give you the idea of the size of the ship.
This is how people reacted to the news of the traffic jam in Suez Canal.
I wonder what happened to the guy that clogged the Suez Canal with a 220 tonne cargo ship. 😂
— Wow, Yus Actually (@momoyusz) March 25, 2021
That single excavator at the Suez canal blockage is a visual expression of the typical civil service response to problems.
— Ikenna – معلمة (@FailedRift) March 25, 2021
If you think youre having a bad day, spare a thought for the helmsman who somehow managed to stick his giantass ship sideways into the goddamn Suez Canal & blocked it into literal gridlock & is currently costing every seafaring nation of Earth like millions of dollars every hour pic.twitter.com/DIWAxwctXa
— Shiv Ramdas (@nameshiv) March 24, 2021
Relationship status: currently stuck in the Suez Canal.
— Joshua, the Paladin of Nonsense (@nonsensetwice) March 25, 2021
The power of the #Suez Canal: One ship stuck and shipping worldwide is affected https://t.co/CA0S1jONwt
— Carola Hein (@hein_carola) March 25, 2021
Last time a great number of ships were trapped in the Suez canal they developed a postal system, formed a mutual aid society and held a sporting event, I’m interested what sailors of 2021 to 2028 will do.
— Christian Dennhardt (@ChDennhardt) March 25, 2021
The canal is among the most trafficked waterways in the world used for shipping crude from the Middle East to Europe and North America and in the oppostive direction. The effect of the jam on oil and crude prices is still to be estimated.
To avoid this in the future, maybe Suez Canal should do what Bangalore did – reduce the size of already narrow road and provide exclusive access to bus (sorry ships).
— Eshwar (@eshwar_nc) March 25, 2021
On a serious note – is there any study that proves that bus lane has been helpful to anyone? pic.twitter.com/2b4ggHHPLo
The canal is among the most trafficked waterways in the world used for shipping crude from the Middle East to Europe and North America and in the oppostive direction. The effect of the jam on oil and crude prices is still to be estimated.
