• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Republica Press

Your Business & Political News Source

REPUBLICA PRESS
Your Business & Political News Source

  • Home
  • BUSINESS
  • MONEY
  • POLITICS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • SCIENCE/TECH
  • US
  • WORLD

Suez Canal Blocked After Container Ship Gets Stuck

by

CAIRO — An enormous container ship became stuck while traversing the Suez Canal late Tuesday, blocking traffic through one of the world’s most important shipping arteries and threatening to add one more burden to a global shipping industry already battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The ship, which was heading from China to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, ran aground amid poor visibility and high winds from a sandstorm that struck much of northern Egypt this week, according to George Safwat, a spokesman for the authority that oversees the canal. The storm caused an “inability to direct the ship,” he said in a statement.

By Wednesday morning, more than 100 ships were stuck at each end of the canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean and carries roughly 10 percent of worldwide shipping traffic.

Dozens of tugboats raced to try and wrench it free as crews on the land brought heavy equipment to dig out the land where it sat wedged.

posted on Tuesday evening. “Looks like we might be here for a little bit …”

The Suez Canal is a key artery for oil flows from the Persian Gulf region to Europe and North America. Roughly 5 percent of globally traded crude oil and 10 percent of refined petroleum products passed through the canal before the pandemic, estimated David Fyfe, chief economist at Argus Media, a market research firm.

After the canal was snarled, there was a 2.85 percent jump in the price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, on Wednesday to $62.52 a barrel.

But Mr. Fyfe said that because the demand for oil remained relatively weak amid the pandemic, a short-term outage is unlikely to have a lasting impact on the market.

“I don’t think this is going to fundamentally change market sentiment,” he said. “A lot will depend on how quickly they can get the vessel cleared.”

Vivian Yee reported from Cairo, and Peter S. Goodman from London. Nada Rashwan contributed reporting from Cairo, and Stanley Reed from London.

View Source

Filed Under: WORLD Tagged With: Africa, Canals, China, Coronavirus, Egypt, Europe, Hong Kong, Industry, Maritime Accidents and Safety, Media, Mediterranean Sea, Netherlands, North America, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Research, Ships and Shipping, trade, United States

Primary Sidebar

More to See

What We Know About the Shooting in Highland Park

Chief Covelli said Mr. Crimo planned the shooting for several weeks, but that the authorities had not yet established what his motive was. “We have no … [Read More...] about What We Know About the Shooting in Highland Park

Kevin McKenzie and Martine van Hamel: On the Zen of Escaping City Life

Kevin McKenzie and Martine van Hamel were standing in the dining room of their weekend house in Woodstock, N.Y., trying to figure out when they got … [Read More...] about Kevin McKenzie and Martine van Hamel: On the Zen of Escaping City Life

Ford reports slight uptick in sales that misses analysts’ expectations

Electric Ford F-150 LightningAndrew Evers / CNBCDETROIT – Ford Motor on Tuesday reported a slight increase in second-quarter new vehicle sales that … [Read More...] about Ford reports slight uptick in sales that misses analysts’ expectations

Copyright © 2022 · Republica Press · Log in · As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy