A Ship Got Stuck In The Suez Canal. Again
For the third time this year, a ship found itself stuck in
the Suez Canal in Egypt. We all remember the Ever Given, which disrupted the
shipping industry by wedging itself in the canal for six days. It seems the
now-famous ship has imitators.
On Thursday, the Panamanian-flagged MV Coral Crystal bulk
carrier — a ship designed to carry cargo like grain or coal in bulk — ran
aground in the southern section of the Suez Canal on its way to Port Sudan,
reports Metro, a British news outlet. The ship got stuck 34 miles in, and held
up four ships while while tug boats worked their magic. It’s the second ship to
get stuck in the canal since the Ever Given was refloated.
The shipping industry continues to struggle to keep up with
demand in the wake of disruptions. Consumers and businesses are dealing with
supply chain problems from suppliers and shippers alike, causing delays. And
everything can be made so much worse by a ship getting stuck in a major
passage.
The MV Coral Crystal’s grounding lasted only 15 minutes, and
according to Bloomberg, the incident didn’t cause any major disruption to
convoys.
Back in May, while the Ever Given was still impounded by the
Suez Canal Authority, a second large ship found itself stuck in the canal. The
Maersk Emerald is a 1,158-foot container ship with a 13,000 twenty-foot
equivalent unit (TEU) capacity. According to Freight Right, TEU is a way to
measure a container ship’s capacity using standardized container sizes. Maersk
Emerald reportedly encountered engine trouble. Thankfully, it got stuck in an
area where there are two lanes of traffic, and other ships were able to sail
through while crews worked for hours to free the ship.
These Suez Canal groundings highlight the need for
improvements to the canal system. The Suez Canal Authority is responding to the
Ever Given incident by starting dredging work to deepen and widen the existing
single lane in the southern section. It is also extending the existing second
lane by about six miles.
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