The Suez Canal in Egypt will be open for shipping in both directions from Monday evening after the ship Ever Given, which was there for almost a week, was towed away. More than four hundred ships are waiting to sail through the canal.
According to local authorities, the Dutch company Boskalis has managed to refloat the vessel without damaging it. “The ship is intact and has no problems. We have inspected the bottom of the Suez Canal and that looks good too, so other ships can still pass through today,” said Osama Rabie of Suez Canal Authority.
According to Rabie, the queue of ships going through the canal can be cleared in about three days. “We won’t waste a second,” he says. Nevertheless, the effects of the stranded ship will be felt for much longer. According to container carrier Maersk, it can take weeks to months for shipping logistics to fully recover.
About 10 percent of world trade is carried through the Suez Canal, a crucial route for trade between China and Europe. More than 40 container ships per day pass through that channel. Consumers can also notice the effects of the blockage in the coming weeks. Blokker and Zeeman, among others, announced earlier this week that they were taking delayed goods into account.
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