Suez Canal block will take few weeks to get cleared; freight movement worth $9.5 bn per day at halt

Cairo/London: – The company working on the task has said that it may take days or even weeks to clear the blockade in the Suez Canal caused by the freight liner MV Ever Given. Moving this ship from here is like moving a gigantic whale stranded on the shore. The blockade caused by this container liner has stalled freight movement worth $9.5 billion per day. More than 150 container liners are queued up near the Mediterranean Sea. It is claimed that the losses will keep mounting with each passing day taken to resolve the problem.

On Tuesday, at about 8.45 am, MV Ever Given, a container ship travelling through the Suez Canal, was trapped in a smoke storm. The captain lost control of the ship and the ship got stuck across the canal, from one coast to the other. The ship weighing 220,000 tonnes is 400 metres in length. The ship, which left from China, is the largest container ship globally with a capacity of carrying 20,000 containers. In this scenario, as the ship was disoriented in the storm, concerns are being expressed over the safety of the 25 sailors and containers on board. But it is claimed that no losses were incurred in the mishap.

The European company Boskalis has been awarded the contract for moving the ship. The chief of the company said that MV Ever Given is like a gigantic whale. The concerned chief said that the way it becomes difficult to move a whale stranded on the shore, removing this ship loaded with thousands of containers and other materials is extremely difficult. Therefore, the ship will have to be emptied and then moved with lug boats. The company clarified that thus, this could take days or even weeks. It is claimed that the efforts made over the last two days to move the ship have failed.

The information given by the company has got many people worried. Every day at least 50 container ships pass through this canal. As the blockade has lasted for three days, there is a queue of 150 container ships. It is being revealed that all these ships are waiting near Port Saeed in northern Egypt.

UK based company, Lloyds List, informed that freight movement worth $9.6 billion occurs through the Suez Canal per day. The ships leaving Europe account for $5.1 billion. Besides, the goods coming to Europe are worth $4.5 billion. In this scenario, if the blockade continues for a long time, there will be serpentine queues of freight liners and losses of billions of dollars will be incurred.

Meanwhile, some companies are demanding to clear the blockade in two days. The companies have warned that their ships will have to look for alternative routes if that is not the case.