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Suez Canal: suspension of navigation “disrupts goods worth 9.6 billion dollars a day

 

The huge Evergiven container transporter stranded in the Suez Canal disrupts goods valued at $ 9.6 billion every day, according to shipping data.

This equates to $ 400 million in trade an hour along the waterway, which is a vital crossing between East and West.

According to data from Lloyd’s List, a shipping specialist, westbound traffic through the canal is estimated at $ 5.1 billion per day, and eastbound traffic is estimated at $ 4.5 billion per day.

Experts say that despite efforts to clear the ship, it could take weeks.

The Evergreen Marine, which is operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, is the equivalent length of four football fields and is one of the largest container ships in the world. The weight of the ship is 200 thousand tons, and it is able to transport 20 thousand containers

Its closure of the Suez Canal disrupted many other ships trying to cross the 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 percent of total world trade passing through it.

In addition to transporting oil, ocean freight is mostly used to transport consumer goods such as clothing, furniture, manufacturing components and auto parts.

According to Lloyd’s List tracking data, there are more than 160 ships waiting at both ends of the canal, including 41 massive tankers and 24 crude oil tankers.

Besides oil, the maritime trade movement carries consumer products such as clothing, furniture, manufacturing components and auto parts

Pimco, the largest international shipping association that represents shipowners, says delays will continue to mount and affect supplies.

“For every day of delay, I think it will take two days to get over the consequences of the delay,” said Alan Bayer, president of OLUSA, a logistics company.

He told the BBC: “Three days of delay results in six days of continuous delay. I am not sure that this is the exact equation, but it will be close to that.”

In addition to delaying thousands of containers of consumables, the stranded vessel also restricted the movement of empty containers, which are essential for export.

Emergency plans

If the delays caused by the accident are short, most companies will compensate for the additional delay during the flights. But rescue officials said that congestion could take days or even weeks, affecting the already stressed global supply chains due to the Coronavirus epidemic

 

Navigation in the Suez Canal disrupted by the delinquency of the Evergiven ship.

“If it looks like it will continue for an indefinite period of time, the ships will start sailing around Africa, which adds seven to nine days (to their voyages),” Bayer said.

“Once the cargo is on board, the shipper or consignee can do little to change the estimated time of arrival of the goods.”

Some companies are exploring the possibility of using air freight to transport alternatives to high-value products, or to transport them via trains

Two major shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, have said they are exploring options to avoid the Suez Canal.

“We are now hearing reports that shipping companies have begun to divert their ships towards South Africa, towards the Cape of Good Hope, which adds about 3,500 miles to the voyage and about 12 days,” Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping, told the BBC’s “Today” program.

Platten added that there would be “huge, realistic supply chain implications”, explaining that consumers would ultimately bear the cost.

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