Suez Canal Blocked by Giant ‘Evergreen’ Container Ship for Six Days

An ultra-large container ship operated by Evergreen ran aground on the Suez Canal on Tuesday, March 23.  This container ship as since blocked traffic on one of the world’s most important waterways, Egypt’s “Suez Canal”. Located 75 miles east of Cairo, the canal links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea allowing direct shipping from Asia to Europe. Roughly 12% of the world’s shipping traffic and a chunk of its oil supply go through the man-made canal, which has become even more vital due to pandemic disruptions to the larger shipping industry.

The ship, named Ever Given, was heading from China to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It ran aground due to high winds and  poor visibility and high winds from a sandstorm that struck much of northern Egypt last week.  According to George Safwat, a spokesman for the Suez Canal Authority, the storm caused an “inability to direct the ship”.

This block in the canal caused a huge traffic jam involving more than 300 ships along the 193-kilometer (120-mile) canal.  With no ships able to pass through this  created major delays in the delivery of oil and other products.

Alternatives are limited for those companies impacted by this canal blockaged.  When it comes to shipping goods from Asia to Europe, there are virtually no alternatives such as rail or truck transportation, said Sharat Ganapati, an economics professor at Georgetown University. Without an alternative, the blockage would delay a range of parts and raw materials for European products such as cotton from India for clothes, petroleum from the Middle East for plastics, and auto parts from China, he said.   With that, some companies are being forced to consider re-routing vessels around the southern tip of Africa.

The blockage added one more burden to a global shipping industry already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic which has created significant delays, goods shortages and higher prices for consumers.

According Supply Chain Dive, the below Container ships impacted by Suez Canal blockage include:

According to CNBC , multiple industries’ are being impacted by the Suez Canal blockage.  Please see the list below for insights on the type of products being affected.

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For more details, please visit:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/world/middleeast/suez-canal-blocked-ship.html
• https://www.businessinsider.com/boat-stuck-suez-canal-latest-setback-global-supply-chain-crisis-2021-3
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/03/27/suez-canal-economy/
• https://apnews.com/article/business-europe-coronavirus-pandemic-suez-canal-red-sea-f1dcdf5ba1e02990942ef85f9fb56987
• https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/2021/03/24/vessel-blockage-in-the-suez-canal
• https://www.we-online.com/web/en/electronic_components/news_pbs/News_Detail_Standard_Parts_120318.php
• https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/suez-canal-cargo-ship-blockage-could-cause-problems-for-the-globe.html 

By Hala Mohamed