Container ship blocking Suez Canal starts to float, report tracking sites
By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 05 Jan 2023
- Tracking websites report that the stern of the boat has moved away from the canal's western bank.
- The MV Ever Given, longer than four football fields, has been wedged diagonally across the canal since Tuesday.
- Each day of the blockade could be costing global trade some $6-10 billion, says German insurer Allianz.
CAIRO: The massive Ever Given container ship that has blocked the Suez Canal close to a week has started to float, reported maritime traffic tracking sites Vesselfinder and my ship-tracking on Monday.
The stern of the boat has moved away from the canal's western bank, according to both sites.
This was confirmed by an AFP source at the canal.
The development came a day after Egyptian authorities decided on Sunday that more tugboats will be needed to free a mammoth container ship blocking the Suez Canal, a shipping agency said.
The MV Ever Given, longer than four football fields, has been wedged diagonally across the canal since Tuesday, towering over nearby palm trees and strangling world supply chains.
Ships re-routing
The crisis has forced companies to choose between waiting or rerouting vessels around Africa, which adds a huge fuel bill, 9,000 kilometres and over a week of travel to the trip between Asia and Europe.
Each day of the blockade could be costing global trade some $6-10 billion, according to a study published Friday by German insurer Allianz.
That translates to some 0.2 to 0.4 percentage points of annual trade growth each week.
And with over 300 ships and billions of dollars worth of cargo now stalled at the entrances to the Suez Canal, many operators have already rerouted vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.
There has been a "surge" in the number of vessels opting for the African route, Lloyd's List said on Sunday.
"Most major container lines are now diverting ships round Cape of Good Hope and warning of supply chain disruption ahead. Some are starting to reject bookings," it said on Twitter.
Cargo giant Maersk said that by the end of the weekend, a total of 32 Maersk and partner vessels would be directly affected by the blockage, with 15 redirected.
French shipping giant CMA-CGM said Sunday two of its Asia-bound vessels would be re-routed, while it was considering air or rail transport for some clients.
Human error
The 200,000-tonne MV Ever Given veered off course in the Suez Canal on Tuesday, with officials blaming 40-knot gusts and a sandstorm.
But the Suez Canal Authority chief, Osama Rabie on Saturday said "technical or human errors" could have led to the grounding of the Taiwan-run, Panama-flagged container ship near the southern end of the 193-kilometer (120-mile) long canal.
Allianz warned the blockage was "the straw that breaks global trade's back".
"Suppliers' delivery times have lengthened since the start of the year and are no longer in Europe than during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic," it said.
Some 369 ships are currently stalled as they wait for the canal to reopen, Rabie told the Al-Arabiya news channel on Sunday.
Egypt is losing some $12-14 million in revenue from the canal for each day it is closed, Rabie added, while Lloyd's List has said the blockage is holding up an estimated $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe.
Russia offered assistance on Sunday, following other countries including the United States that have made similar offers.
As a sign of the knock-on effects, authorities in war-wracked Syria said the crisis had hit its fuel imports from Iran and forced it to ration already scarce supplies.
Romania's animal health agency said 11 ships carrying livestock out of the country were also impacted, with NGO Animals International warning of a potential "tragedy" affecting some 130,000 animals.
