HOW DID A SHIP GET STUCK IN THE SUEZ CANAL?

 The Washington Post 25 March 2021 - by Miriam Berger, Júlia Ledur

One of the largest ships at sea is stranded sideways in one of the world’s key shipping canals, blocking millions of dollars in trade as frantic efforts to refloat it unfold.

Since Tuesday, the Japanese-owned Ever Given cargo ship, operated by a Taiwanese company, Evergreen Marine, has been wedged at an angle in Egypt’s Suez Canal.

One of the world’s biggest ships remains wedged across Suez Canal, disrupting a key trade route

© Provided by The Washington Post

The trapped 200,000-ton vessel — stuck in a position one industry expert compared to that of an “enormous beached whale” — has caused a traffic jam of cargo ships waiting to make it through, with ripples felt across world trade.

Here’s what happened.

What is the Suez Canal, and who controls it?

The Suez Canal is a man-made waterway linking the Red and Mediterranean seas. It belongs to Egypt.

When it opened in 1869, the canal increased the ease of global trade by offering a route that circumvented the need to round the Horn of Africa. It’s since remained crucial to international trade, including for the oil sector.

In 1956, Israel, Britain and France invaded Egypt in an attempt to seize control of the strategic waterway after the country nationalized it. Their forces later withdrew.

In 2015, Egypt launched a major and costly renovation of the canal. By some estimates, 12 percent of global trade now passes through it.

Egypt’s ‘gift to the world’ cost $8 billion and probably wasn’t necessary

How did the vessel get stuck?

Cargo ships cross the narrow passageway one by one to avoid mishaps.

On Tuesday, a sandstorm reportedly hit the more than 1,300-foot Ever Given, decreasing visibility and battering the ship with heavy winds. That disruption caused the ship to become wedged sideways across the canal.

The exact details of and science behind what happened are still to be determined. In the heavy winds, for example, the ship’s cargo could have formed a sail-like effect, propelling it off course.

The vessel is just at the maximum length permitted for a ship to use the canal, so it also has very little wiggle room. It is, for comparison, larger than the Eiffel Tower.

© Provided by The Washington Post

The 25 members of the crew are all reportedly safe. Workers on these kinds of ships typically spend months at a time at sea.

What’s being done to get it out?

For several days, tug boats have been working away to dig around and pull out the most wedged part of the ship. There’s been some movement, but it’s a slow and massive project that could drag on for days or even longer. Teams of specialists from places such as the Netherlands are flying in to help.

As part of the process, the ship will probably have to be made lighter. That could mean removing some of its fuel — or some of its cargo, which would be even more time-consuming, Bloomberg News reported. For the latter approach, specific equipment would have to be flown in.

“It is not really possible to pull it loose,” said Peter Berdowski, CEO of dredging company Boskalis, who had compared it to a whale. He predicted it could be weeks before the ship is fully dislodged.

How has the incident affected international trade?

The longer the Suez Canal remains blocked, or partially blocked, the more painful the financial repercussions are expected to be. Oil prices rose Wednesday because of fears of deepening disruptions in global trade, before falling again.

There’s a backlog of some 237 ships left waiting, which could be carrying anything from live animals to natural gas and more, according to Bloomberg News. On Tuesday, after the ordeal began, there were only around 100 ships waiting in line. Wednesday the number rose to around 185.

© Provided by The Washington Post

In the meantime, Egypt has opened up an alternative, smaller area of the canal. Lloyd’s List, a shipping journal, estimated that each day the canal is closed, some $9 billion worth of goods are affected, the Associated Press reported. Delays at the canal will affect unloading schedules at other ports and docks, which can delay goods en route to producers, suppliers and consumers.

© Provided by The Washington Post

“We are determined to keep on working hard to resolve this situation as soon as possible,” the ship’s owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, wrote in a statement Thursday. “We would like to apologize to all parties affected by this incident, including the ships travelling and planning to travel through Suez Canal.”

© Provided by The Washington Post

Has this happened before?

Most recently, in 2017, a Japanese vessel carrying containers became blocked in the canal after it had a mechanical issue. Tug boats and Egyptian authorities, however, were able to kick-start the ship within a couple of hours.

Additional graphics by Tim Meko and Hannah Dormido.