Grounded Suez Canal mega-ship is blocking shipments worth $9.5BILLION per day with 'enormous' consequences for global economy as rescue chief warns it could be stuck for WEEKS
- Cargo ship Ever Given, one of the world's largest, remains wedged in the Suez Canal as rescue efforts resume
- Dutch expert brought in to help has warned operation could take 'weeks' and might involve taking cargo off
- Goods worth an estimated $29billion are currently stuck in the logjam, with another $9.5bn added each day
- Knock-on effect already being felt, as oil prices jumped 6 per cent on Wednesday as news of blockage spreadThe
giant cargo ship wedged across the Suez Canal is blocking shipments
worth an estimated $9.5billion per day including food and oil which will
have an 'enormous' impact on the world economy, experts have warned.
At least 150 ships are now stuck in the logjam caused by 200,000-ton cargo ship Ever Given which ran aground in the narrow channel on Tuesday, with goods worth $29billion already held up.
The effect has been felt on world markets already as the price of crude oil shot up 6 per cent on Wednesday, reversing months of often-record falls caused by the coronavirus pandemic.But the true cost of the disaster will be far higher as delays to vital goods cause losses at firms around the globe. Kate Harding, chief executive of trade data firm Coriolis Technologies, warned today that the risks to global trade are 'absolutely enormous'.
If the canal cannot be quickly unblocked then shipping firms will have no choice but to route their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa - a route that adds 14 days and 5,000 nautical miles to the journey.
That could mean higher prices for goods shipped to Europe from Asia - including cars, construction materials, and coronavirus PPE - as shipping companies increase their charges to cover the cost of taking longer routes.
Meanwhile the CEO of a team of Dutch experts brought in to help the rescue operation warned that the canal could be closed for 'weeks', with workers forced to unload cargo containers stacked some 100ft high on the ship's deck if attempts to dig it out fail.
Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis, compared the ship to 'an enormous beached whale' as he warned workers might have to start offloading cargo in order to reduce its weight and get it floating again.
'We can't exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation,' he told Dutch media. 'It's an enormous weight on the sand. We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tug boats and dredging of sand.'
He spoke as canal workers, who had paused work overnight during low tide, this morning restarted efforts to free the ship - which is about as long as the Empire State Building is tall - from where it has lodged diagonally across the waterway.
Excavators are trying to dig out the vessel's dolphin-nose bow which has lodged in the eastern wall of the canal, while dredgers and tugboats try to shift its stern which is jammed against the western side.
Efforts to free one of the world's largest container ships which became lodged in the Suez Canal on Tuesday have resumed this morning, as experts warn it could take weeks to refloat the stranded vessel
Blogger's note: Was this also discussed at recent WEF gatherings as a means to destroy the World economy? I would not be surprised.
Be the first to comment.
Blogger's note: subterrnews.blogspot.com does not send cookies, or collect any information on those using the blog. However, the blogspot is on google, and google may collect information, and send cookies. Many of the links that we connect to do not send out cookies or collect information, but some do. You are keying in to this blog, and you have agreed to this.
The views expressed in the articles do not necessarily represent the opinions of this blog. They are the views, and opinions of the author(s) of the article.
0 comments:
Post a Comment