The 400 meter-long (1312 feet) MV Ever Given, a Panamanian-flagged cargo shipped owned by Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK leased out to Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp, ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking one of the world's busiest shipping routes. The MV Ever Given's bow collided with the east wall of the canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. While about 50 ships typically pass through the canal each day, the latest obstruction had completely halted all maritime traffic. Currently, nearly a dozen tugboats and a backhoe are attempting to free the obstruction, though Ahmed Mekawy, the assistant manager of GAC marine agency, says that the 220,000 tonne cargo ship is still stuck and that it is still unclear when the route will reopen.
Singapore-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the manager of the MV Ever Given, says that all 20 crew members are safe, no containers were lost, and no fuel is leaking. The current cause of the incident is still unclear, though while some sources suggest that the ship lost power and steering, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement denies this. Local sources say that a strong sandstorm alongside winds exceeding 50 kilometers per hour (Over 30 miles per hour) were recorded when the ship ran aground, but other media outlets and some analysts do not believe strong winds alone could have grounded the 220,000 tonne ship.
As one of the busiest global shipping routes, over 10% of the world trade flows through the Suez Canal. About 1 million barrels of oil totaling roughly 10% of the global flow normally pass through the canal daily, and the delayed shipping has caused oil prices worldwide to spike. North American oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate grew over 6% to just over 61 United States dollars per barrel. However, analysts say that as long as the MV Ever Given is moved in the next few days and shipping results, the oil prices should return to its normal pre-obstruction price.
Suez Canal officials state that currently, about 30 ships are waiting are currently lined up at the Great Bitter Lake midway on the canal, 40 are idling in the Mediterranean Sea, and 30 are waiting at Suez in the Red Sea. Dryad Global, a private marine intelligence firm, has warned all vessels idling in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to stay at "a heightened posture of alertness" as there are concerns that ships could be targets after a series of attacks against shipping amid tensions between Iran and the United States of America. There is also concern that opportunistic pirates could attempt to attack cargo ships.
Note: The first photo used in this article and the thumbnail depicts the MV Ever Given in 2020. This image was originally posted to Flickr by kees torn at https://flickr.com/photos/68359921@N08/49643352087 and is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic. No changes were made to the original image. The rest of the images were retrieved from the public domain and do not require attribution or citation for commercial purposes.
