Suez blockage is holding up $9.6bn of goods a day

Suez: The stranded Ever Given mega-container ship in the Suez Canal is holding up an estimated $9.6bn (£7bn) of goods each day, as per shipping data. On the other side, this works out at $400 an hour in trade along the waterway which is a vital passageway between east and west. Data from shipping expert Lloyd’s List values the canal’s westbound traffic at roughly $5.1bn a day, and eastbound daily traffic at around $4.5bn.

The Ever Given, operated by the Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine, is the length of four football pitches and one of the world’s biggest container vessels. The 2,00,000 tonne ship is capable of carrying 20,000 containers.

While its blockage is causing huge tailbacks of other ships trying to pass through the Suez Canal. The canal, which separates Africa from the Middle East and Asia, is one of the busiest trade routes in the world, with about 12% of total global trade moving through it.

As per Lloyd’s List tracking data, there are more than 160 vessels waiting at either end of the canal. These include 41 bulk carriers and 24 crude tankers. Along with oil, the sea traffic is largely consumer products. Such as clothing, furniture, manufacturing components, and car parts.

Work continues on freeing the Ever Given mega-container ship

Guy Platten, the SG of the International Chamber of Shipping said, we’re hearing reports now. Those shipping companies are starting to divert their ships around the southern tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope which adds about 3,500 miles to the journey and up to 12 days.

On the other side, he said the ship appeared to be “hard fast aground”, adding that freeing. The vessel from the bank is taking much longer and was more complicating than had been initially expecting. Mr. Platten added there would be “some major real-world effects on the supply chain,” explaining that consumers would ultimately bear the cost.

Container ships have nearly doubled in size in the past decade. As global trade expands, making the job of moving them much harder when they get stuck. While containers jettisoning overboard, delayed transit due to terminal congestion, and let us not forget the long line of vessels at many ports waiting for a berth, said Jon Monroe.

BIMCO, an international shipping association, says the delays will only continue to grow and affect supplies. For each day of delay my thought is it will take two days to undo the delays, said Alan Baer, president of logistics provider OL USA.

Moreover, delaying thousands of containers loaded with consumer items. The stranded ship has also tied up empty containers each is needing for exports. If the delays are short, most companies will absorb the extra delay in transit times. 

Some companies will be considering flying replacement merchandise for higher-value products or transporting them via trains. Two major shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, said they are looking into options to avoid the Suez Canal.