According to Evergreen Marine, the ship was “suspected of being hit by a sudden strong wind, causing the hull to deviate... and accidentally hit the bottom and run aground.”

Though such accidents as this one are rare, they can still have “huge ramifications for global trade” according to Dr Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian based in the United States, North Carolina. Reuters had reported a 4% rise in crude oil prices on the international markets on Wednesday, due to fears that the blockage would halt/slow down shipments.

“This is the largest vessel ever to go aground in the Suez Canal,” said Dr Mercogliano. “If they are unable to pull her free... in a high tide, they are going to have to start removing cargo.”

The sooner the incident is cleared, the sooner world trade can continue as normal. The Suez Canal is often referred to as ‘the artery of the world,’ acting as the vein through which the lifeblood is delivered. It connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, providing the best and quickest trade route between Asia and the Middle East/Europe. Without it in operation, global trade prices of certain commodities may only continue to see a gradual rise.

Shipments of oil and natural gas are particularly busy through this route, through which an average of at least 50 vessels pass on a daily basis. Such a delay is further troublesome in the way that it may lead to the delays in consignment of fuels and various transported goods.

“Even the slightest delay in traffic can result in congestion and disturb the delivery of goods and commodities on both sides,” said the analysts at S&P Global Platts.

What’s more, the incident has occurred at what is arguably the busiest time of the year. During the Chinese New Year, manufacturing comes to a crawl in China, leading to a slowing down of the production and transportation of goods from the country. With the Chinese New Year having just ended, trade was only just beginning to pick up in the country again.

Given the COVID-19 situation and pandemic concerns, trade had already been somewhat slowed down in comparison to previous years. Businesses hoping to restock, expecting pandemic restrictions to ease soon, may now experience further delay.

There are reportedly around 10 million barrels of oil and petrol backed up behind the blockage. “If it doesn’t get cleared quickly it will cause a lot of delay and people will have to start looking at shipping goods via the Cape of Good Hope,” said international supply chain expert at Colliers International, Chris Evans. “It will cause a hiccup and bunching of ships at various ports in Europe. Anything that’s behind it will come rushing through. Discharging vessels is already slow because of Covid procedures, as is pick-up of containers.”

He added that “The knock-on effect, the delays, start to build very quickly. We will have to go back to that old-fashioned thing: patience.”

By Patryk Krych | © The World Daily 2021