A huge container ship has run aground and is blocking traffic in the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route.
A huge container ship has run aground and is blocking traffic in the Suez Canal, one of the world's busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia. The 400 metre-long Ever Given container ship ran aground early on March 23 as it travelled north from the Red Sea towards the Mediterranean, twisting diagonally across the width of the canal.
The canal is in Egypt and it connects Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Egyptian city of Suez on the Red Sea. The canal enables more direct shipping between Europe and Asia, eliminating the need to circumnavigate Africa and cutting voyage times by days or weeks.
1. How did the ship get stuck?
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The 400 metre-long Ever Given container ship ran aground early on March 23 as it travelled north from the Red Sea towards the Mediterranean, twisting diagonally across the width of the canal.
The principal causes were high winds and a sand storm that reduced visibility and rendered the ship unable to keep a straight course through the channel, according to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). As the incident happened, stormy weather was buffeting Egypt, forcing the closure of several Mediterranean and Red Sea ports. However, the head of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, Osama Rabie, said Saturday that "technical or human errors" may be to blame for the grounding of a giant container ship in the crucial waterway.
When ships enter the Suez Canal, they are boarded and steered through in convoys, with the help of one or two tugs. Occasionally they get stuck but are usually freed quickly with little impact on other shipping.
2. Why has traffic been halted?
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The Ever Given is blocking the southernmost stretch of the canal which has a single lane, meaning no other ships can pass.
In 2015, Egypt opened a second lane for simultaneous two-way traffic on a 35 km (22 mile) stretch of the canal, but the extension lies further north, beyond an area where the canal widens into the Great Bitter Lake.
The SCA allowed a convoy of ships to enter the canal from its northern end at Port Said on March 24, hoping that the Ever Given would soon be freed, but the vessels have dropped anchor in a Great Bitter Lake waiting area.
3. Why is Suez Canal important?
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The 193-km waterway Suez Canal which connects Asia and Europe is so important to world trade that world powers have fought over it since it was completed in 1869. About 12% of world trade passes through the canal each year, everything from crude oil to grains to instant coffee. Without Suez, a supertanker carrying Mideast crude oil to Europe would have to travel an extra 6,000 miles around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding some $300,000 in fuel costs. Because it has no locks, it can even handle aircraft carriers.
The canal’s location makes it a key link for shipping crude oil and other hydrocarbons from countries such as Saudi Arabia to Europe and North America. Among other goods, 54.1 million tons of cereal passed through the canal, 53.5 million tons of ores and metals, and 35.4 million tons of coal and coke in 2019.
4. History of Suez Canal
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In 1858, the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was tasked to construct and operate the canal for 99 years, after which rights would be handed to the Egyptian government. Despite facing multiple problems ranging from financial difficulties and attempts by the British and Turks to halt construction, the canal was opened for international navigation in 1869.
The French and British held most of the shares in the canal company. The British used their position to sustain their maritime and colonial interests by maintaining a defensive force along the Suez Canal Zone as part of a 1936 treaty. In 1954, facing pressure from Egyptian nationalists, the two countries signed a seven-year treaty that led to the withdrawal of British troops.
5. Which country controls the canal now?
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The British powers that controlled the canal through the first two world wars withdrew forces there in 1956 after years of negotiations with Egypt, effectively relinquishing authority to the Egyptian government led by President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
6. What is being done to free the ship?
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At least eight tug boats, one with a towing power of 160 tons, have been trying to free the ship by pushing and pulling it away from the banks, with the help of the ship's own winches.
Diggers have been clearing earth at the ship's bow, which was buried in the canal's eastern bank, and the SCA has deployed two dredgers.
Local maritime sources said ballast water, which is used to help stabilise ships, had been offloaded from the Ever Given amid efforts to refloat it.
7. Where is the Suez Canal?
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The canal is in Egypt, connecting Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Egyptian city of Suez on the Red Sea. The passage enables more direct shipping between Europe and Asia, eliminating the need to circumnavigate Africa and cutting voyage times by days or weeks.
(All photo: Reuters, inputs from agencies)
