Container ship stuck in Suez Canal managed to be completely unloaded / Article / LSM.lv

The 400-meter-long container ship Ever Given, which had been blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week, was completely unloaded on Monday afternoon, Egyptian authorities said. It gives hope that traffic on one of the world’s most important waterways will soon be restored. The blockade of the Suez Canal has damaged the world economy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMyErD7Vf74

The Suez Canal Authority reported on Monday morning that the stern of the container vessel “Ever Given” had been moved 80% in the required direction. If previously the stern of the ship was only four meters from the shore of the canal, then after the work was done it was already more than a hundred meters from the shore.

It’s too early to rejoice

Egyptian officials on Monday morning expressed hope that the huge ship would be fully released during the day and that it would be possible to resume movement along the Suez Canal. But experts warned that it was too early to rejoice.

“Now the easiest part of the job is done,” Peter Berdowski, head of the specialized dredging company Boskalis, told the Dutch media. He points out that it will be much more difficult to release the bow of the ship, which is stuck in a clay bed.

Ever 200, which weighed 200,000 tons, ran aground last Tuesday. Initially, it was speculated that this was due to strong winds and sandstorms, but the shipowners and the Suez Canal Authority also do not rule out human error and technical problems.

Due to the blockade, there are a total of 369 vessels at the northern and southern exit of the canal, waiting for traffic on the important waterway to resume. Not only container vessels, but also oil and gas tankers and dry cargo vessels are waiting in line.

Thousands of livestock at risk

Animal rights defenders are particularly concerned about up to 20 ships carrying “live cargo”: sheep and other livestock, which could number around 200,000 on congested ships. If ships do not receive additional supplies of feed and drinking water, animals could die. .

Transport expert Spencer Wales points out that the closure of the Suez Canal is a blow to world trade, which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic for years. This is particularly the case in the energy sector.

“About 7% of the world’s oil is sold through the Suez Canal, but this is not currently the case. Ships have the opportunity to travel around Africa, but that would mean a journey of two weeks and much higher costs. The crews of the ships have to decide: to wait in line with 300 more ships, or to go on a longer voyage? ” he told Al Jazeera television.

Delayed fuel deliveries

The Suez Canal crisis has affected Syria, whose economy has been badly damaged by a decade-long war. Its government has said it has been forced to regulate fuel due to delays in supplies from Iran.

Sama Hadida, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian refugee council, expressed concern about the Syrian government’s statements.

“The country is suffering from a crisis, as the economic collapse is hurting the daily lives of Syrians and Syrians. But the delay in fuel supplies will make the already worse situation worse, “Hadida told Al Jazeera.

News of the partial lifting of Ever Given has been positively received by the oil and stock markets. If world oil prices rose in previous days, the price of Brent oil fell by 2.1% on Monday morning, while the price of US crude fell by 2.4%.

CONTEXT:

The 400-meter-long container ship Ever Given was exposed to strong winds on the morning of March 23 ran aground and diagonally crossed the Suez Canal. As a result, shipping in both directions was blocked. Previously, experts speculated that rescue workers may need several weeks to lifted off a huge ship, which is trapped and obstructs the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal, excavated more than 150 years ago, is one of the world’s most important trade routes.

Last year, almost 19,000 ships traveled through the canal, carrying more than one billion tons of cargo.

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