The Suez Canal is located west of the Sinai Peninsula, 193 kilometers long and 300 meters wide at its narrowest point. It is located in Egypt, between the city of Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez on the Red Sea. It allows the transition in both directions between Europe and Asia, without surrounding Africa.
The canal is the basis of 15% of trade on Earth, and earlier this year, a major incident but some producers on hold. Due to the Ever Given ship, weighing 200,000 tons, this route was blocked, thus preventing the passage of other vessels. The 400-meter ship was carrying 18,300 containers at the time of the blockade, being operated by the Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine. It failed diagonally across the canal, due to strong winds accompanied by a sandstorm, which reduced visibility, blocking both directions of navigation. Dozens of ships were caught in traffic jams, waiting for the ship to recover. The blockage of the canal led to the disruption of some global supply chains.
Suez Canal authorities (SCA) have demanded $ 900 million in compensation, along with the costs associated with restoring the ship to the waterline and other maintenance costs. The authority has begun an investigation to determine the cause of the ship's failure, but it has been postponed.
The ship Ever Given was returned to its original trajectory after 6 days, ending a foreseeable economic crisis.
Subsequently, in early April, two other tankers were stranded on the same canal. With a smaller size, the two 240-meter ships were part of a convoy at the time of the incident.
Following the blockade of the Suez Canal, which risks upsetting maritime freight, SCA has considered the idea of expanding certain sections. However, this could take years, taking into account the fact that heavy traffic prevents constant work.
Some people say that these events will surely happen again, and the only thing we hope for is that they will not have the same gravity as the situation of the ship Ever Given.
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