Watch out for rumors! Latest news on giant container ship stuck in Suez Canal

On March 23, a giant container ship (EVER GIVEN) owned by Evergreen Marine ran aground in the Suez Canal. The waterway has been blocked in both directions since the incident.

After the accident, rumors also emerged that the Suez Canal would be congested for "a month" ...

"The Suez Canal will be blocked for at least a month"?

"Because of the one-month blockage, shipping market prices will fluctuate greatly"?

The above content is not reliable!

According to insiders, the stranded container ship (EVER GIVEN) has been righted and towed to the shore, and the Suez Canal waterway is expected to return to normal soon! A month-long blockage is not possible!

Latest news: The ship has been towed to the shore and is working on restoring navigation. Friends who have goods on it are always paying attention to the progress!

Previous news: According to the International Financial News, citing foreign media reports, at around 8 am local time on March 23 (Tuesday), a huge container ship ran aground while entering the Suez Canal from the north of the Red Sea.

Judging from the photos posted by netizens on social media, the hull of the ship was lying across the middle of the canal, with the bow wedged into one bank and the stern almost touching the other bank, causing the canal to be blocked in both directions and navigation was cut off.

The waterway where the ship ran aground separates the African continent from the Sinai Peninsula.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Egypt has sent out tugboats to rescue the victims, but the rescue efforts have not been successful. At least 100 ships have been blocked.

Image source: Vessel finder

The EVER GIVEN that ran aground was sailing from a Chinese port to the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, fully loaded with Chinese goods, serving the well-known Asia-Europe CEM route.

The domestic ports of call include Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen Yantian Port, etc. It is expected that there will be a significant impact on domestic cargo owners and freight forwarders.

220,000-ton ship blocks Suez Canal

Upon investigation, the freighter was named "Ever Given", a 20,000 TEU ultra-large container ship, 400 meters long, 59 meters wide, with a draft of about 16 meters and a displacement of 220,000 tons.

With a maximum transport capacity of approximately 200,000 tons and the ability to carry more than 20,000 standard containers, it is one of the largest ocean-going ships.

It is chartered and operated by Evergreen Group on a time charter basis, with the route being the Far East - Europe.

Image source: Twitter

According to images from Vessel finder, the Ever Given was stuck in the southern section of the Suez Canal, with a large number of ships blocking both ends, including several tankers loaded with oil.

Egypt has tried various methods including using tugboats to tow the ship, dredging the river with dredgers, and trying to adjust the angle of the bow, but all to no avail.

The "Ever Given" is still unable to move and is slightly tilted in the river.

Image source: Twitter

According to the Global Times, shipping logistics company GAC Group said that generally speaking, ships travel in "teams" through the Suez Canal.

The "Ever Given" is also a member of the fleet, and four ships in the same fleet before it have passed through the canal to the north.

But the "Ever Given" got stuck in the canal, causing the next 15 ships to anchor and wait. At the same time, ships heading south through the Suez Canal were also blocked.

The blockage of the Evergreen cargo ship has also affected the progress of cargo ships from various countries on the canal. Many captains have also collapsed on Twitter and posted pictures of themselves waiting in line on the canal. The scene is quite shocking.

The Guardian said that earlier reports speculated that the Ever Given may have lost power, but Evergreen Shipping later said that the freighter may have been stranded by a strong wind.

Information from the Egyptian Meteorological Department showed that Egypt was hit by strong winds and sandstorms on the 23rd local time, with wind speeds reaching 50 kilometers per hour.

Industry insiders have said that Evergreen may be fined for causing the canal blockage, but so far, no shipwreck has occurred at the scene, so it is relatively easy to handle.

As for the impact on freight rates and traffic, it depends on how long the ship is stuck in the canal.

The Suez Canal Authority, which operates the canal, has not yet commented on the matter. According to foreign media reports, an official from Egypt's Gulf Agency Company said in an email.

No progress has been made to refloat the container ship and restore normal traffic in the canal.

According to the company's emailed statement, Evergreen urged the ship's owner to work with the canal authority and other relevant agencies to develop a plan to help the ship get out of trouble as soon as possible.

Japan's Shoei Kisen Kaisha, listed as one of the ship's owners, declined to comment.

Ralph Leszczynski, head of research at ship broker Banchero Costa & Co., said assistance efforts were underway using tugboats.

It is hoped that the vessel will be refloated soon, but it may take several days while the damage to the ship is inspected.

Salvatore R. Mercogliano, a former merchant mariner and associate professor of history at Campbell University in North Carolina, warned.

The incident could have major knock-on effects on global shipping between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

"On average, 50 cargo ships pass through that canal every day, so the closure of the canal means a halt to the flow of goods," Mercogliano said.

An Egyptian official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the tugboat rescue operation could take two days.

Or trigger a chain reaction in the global market

The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It is an important waterway between Europe and Asia. The canal is 190 kilometers long, 24 meters deep and 205 meters wide.

In August 2014, the Egyptian government announced that it would build a 72-kilometer-long new canal on the east side of the Suez Canal to expand navigation capacity.

This included digging 35 kilometers of new canal and widening and deepening 37 kilometers of the existing canal. The new canal opened in August 2015.

According to the Suez Canal Authority, in 2020, nearly 19,000 ships passed through the canal, an average of 51.5 ships per day, with a net tonnage of 1.17 billion tons.

About 12% of world trade passes through the man-made canal, which remains one of Egypt's largest sources of foreign exchange.

As a vital global shipping route, the blockage of the Suez Canal could have a significant impact on global markets.

Anoop Singh, head of research at Braemar ACM Shipbroking, said about 600,000 barrels of crude oil are shipped from the Middle East to Europe and the United States through the Suez Canal every day.

If they do not want to wait for the blockade to be lifted, stranded ships can choose to sail around South Africa, but this route is much longer and will significantly increase transportation time and costs.

If the blockage is not resolved, European and American refiners that rely on the Suez Canal to transport Middle Eastern oil may be forced to find alternative supply channels, which could push up oil prices.

Analysts said European and American buyers may now look to crude from other regions, such as the United States, Europe's North Sea, Russia and West Africa.

On Wednesday, affected by the blockage of the Suez Canal, oil prices fluctuated significantly. As of press time, London Brent crude oil futures were at $62.72, up $1.93, or 3.17%.

New York WTI crude oil futures were at $59.6, up $1.84, or 3.19%.

In addition to oil prices, market participants believe that the global container shipping industry is currently in a serious bottleneck period, and the Suez Canal is also one of the busiest waterways in the world.

This accident may have a significant impact on the container shipping industry, which has already encountered a supply chain bottleneck, and even the entire shipping industry. Prices in the world shipping market may fluctuate significantly.