LATEST UPDATE: As of 12:00 local time (10:00 GMT) the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has advised that “the grounded vessel has been partially re-floated and is now alongside the canal bank.”
On Tuesday, March 23, 2021, a 200,000-ton shipping vessel, bound for the Port of Rotterdam from China, became stranded after “being hit by a sudden strong wind, causing the hull to deviate and accidentally hit the bottom and run aground.”
Egypt’s Suez Canal is one of the most important trade routes in the world, connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, and is the one of the shortest ways to get from Europe to Asia.
The Suez Canal waterway first opened in 1869 and was recently expanded in 2015 to include an additional new 22-mile parallel channel. Over 50 vessels use the 120-mile long, 205-meter-wide passage daily.
The EVER GIVEN, a 20,000 TEU-capacity container ship is wedged across the waterway, blocking the path for other container ships. The Suez Canal Authorities have sent dredging vessels to try and loosen the sand below the EVER GIVEN and move it forward, however, this may take days.
Currently, the situation is causing hundreds of vessels transiting the channel to bottleneck and create supply chain delays.
As Green continues to monitor the situation, stay up-to-date on freight and trade news by following us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. For continuous updates, make sure to check out our website at greenworldwide.com.
