A giant container ship has blocked the Suez Canal, causing gridlock in one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes and lifting oil prices.
The Ever Given cargo ship, run by Taiwan shipping company Evergreen Marine and one of the largest container ships in operation on the high seas, accidentally ran aground overnight.
The Suez Canal, one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, is reportedly blocked because someone accidentally got stuck with their giant container ship. The photo is unreal. pic.twitter.com/I2ACkBqPi2
— Marcel Dirsus (@marceldirsus) March 23, 2021
Appearing to have blocked the entire width of the iconic Egyptian canal, almost as if it was attempting an Austin Powers-style three-point turn, the boat has caused a jam of at least 100 vessels seeking to transit between the Red Sea and Mediterranean, Bloomberg reported.
Canal authorities were employing around eight tug boats in their attempts to free the stuck-fast vessel, which is 400m long and 59m wide with gross tonnage of 219,079.
“This could have an impact on movement of oil and consumer goods,” said Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid.
News of the ship blocking the canal “will not be helping sentiment in export-sensitive Asian markets”, added market analyst Jeffrey Halley at Oanda, while Neil Wilson at Markets.com said oil prices had moved higher after the grounding.
The movement of the Ever Given, or lack of it, can be tracked around the world via online platforms such as vesselfinder.com/EverGiven.
After all day trying to refloat the mega container ship 'Ever Given', in the Suez Canal, there is a steady log jam of ships waiting in the Mediterranean & Red Sea and in the canal itself pic.twitter.com/aGFKieoWqE
— N South (@nat_ahoy) March 23, 2021
This situation > https://t.co/1Y0YK2a683 - seems like the ???? seafaring equivalent of this scene from #AustinPowers ⤵️ #SuezCanal pic.twitter.com/j9g74duU0P
— Rob Whiting ???? (@whitingx) March 24, 2021