Egypt has quite the predicament on its hands. How to move a ship that is blocking one of the biggest shipping channels in the world (watch above from Reuters). The Associated Press writes, “Over its 150-year history, Egypt’s Suez Canal has seen wars and crises — but nothing quite like the stranding of the Ever Given.”
The obstruction could prove embarrassing for Egypt, where the waterway long has been a symbol of national pride. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi poured $8.2 billion into a lavish expansion of the canal that was unveiled in 2015. However, the Ever Given got stuck just south of that new section.
The Ever Given ran aground earlier this week. The cause isn’t known, but NPR writes it came “amid high winds, a dust storm and poor visibility for navigation:”
The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement Thursday that it had officially suspended traffic while efforts to dislodge the 1,300-foot Ever Given continued. The salvage operator working to free the ship said it could be weeks before it is re-floated — raising the possibility of major new disruptions to global commerce just as supply chains have begun to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tugboats have been trying to nudge the ship and bulldozers have been digging around the boat, but so far no success. In the meantime, the Wall Street Journal reports that the impact of the crisis is already being felt, “The fallout from the Suez Canal blockage rippled through the energy industry Thursday, with the cost of renting tankers rising and shippers starting to plot alternative routes for supplies of oil and gas.”
While this incident isn’t exactly funny, the Twittersphere is trying to find some entertainment in a situation that has the whole world watching.
2 guys and a bulldozer on site to dislodge a ship stuck in the Suez Canal. pic.twitter.com/APAIU7sCv6
— John Arnold (@JohnArnoldFndtn) March 24, 2021
I love the internet#SuezCanal pic.twitter.com/jMPWGftvT3
— Mohamed El Dahshan (@eldahshan) March 24, 2021
You might be having a bad day
but you certainly aren't having as bad a day as the captain who accidently parallel parked their ship across the Suez canal, causing a global shipping traffic jam of epic proportions pic.twitter.com/rwgDbHEfi4
— Morning Brew ☕️ (@MorningBrew) March 24, 2021
What is happing in #SuezCanal today explained.#Egypt
pic.twitter.com/T06bFDGQ7q— Zaina Erhaim 🪬 (@ZainaErhaim) March 24, 2021
That Suez Canal boat guy in training pic.twitter.com/P18zqb5Qn9
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) March 24, 2021