World Trade Blocked by Blocked Suez Canal - a Giant Ship

 

Photo: BBC News

A major world trade route has been blocked by a freight ship turned sideways.  The Suez Canal is blocked by a 200,000-ton ship.  Evergreen Marine is the owner of the ship.  A Taiwanese shipping company.  The ship hit land last week.  With a backlog of nearly 300 other freight ships waiting to go through, the problem is worsening by the hour.

To give an idea of the scale of the massive ship, the picture below shows construction equipment that appears to be sized to a child's toy compared to the vessel.  According to Reuters, the ship can carry up to 20,000 containers -- each 20 feet in length:

Photo: The Telegraph

Think about the size and complexity of the problem to be solved.  In an upcoming post, we will explore the carrying capacity in a dimensional analysis post/problem.  For now, think about the scale and the pressure that the crew is feeling holding up a major trade route.

More importantly, how did the staff of the canal manage to let this happen?  Who is responsible?  Who pays for the late arrival of products around the world?  Will this slow the opening up of the economy with the curtailing of the COVID-19 virus from the vaccine roll-out?

Stay tuned!