The Suez Canal Situation:, What Happened.<br />For the past week, the Ever Given's<br />unfortunate blockage of the Suez Canal has<br />dominated news headlines across the world.<br />Here’s everything you need to know about the Ever Given<br />and its brief yet impactful stay in the Suez Canal. .<br />What is the Ever Given?, The Ever Given is a Japanese-owned container ship that<br />is nearly a quarter-mile long; one of the world’s largest. <br />.<br />What is the Suez Canal?, The canal runs through Egypt and connects<br />the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. .<br />This cuts voyage times by days or weeks, as it<br />eliminates the need for ships to circumnavigate Africa.<br />Why was it stuck for so long?, On March 23, The Ever Given ran aground in the canal<br />due to high winds and poor visibility. .<br />Because of its massive size and weight (200,000 metric<br />tons), efforts to free the ship were extremely difficult. .<br />How was it eventually freed?, The Ever Given was finally freed after six days of<br />salvage teams working on both land and water.<br />The ship was pulled with tugboats, dredging<br />was done underneath the hull and the canal<br />embankment underwent excavation. .<br />How did the blockage impact trade?, The Suez Canal handles about 10 percent of<br />global maritime commercial traffic. .<br />By the time the Ever Given was freed, there were<br />367 vessels waiting to travel through the canal.<br />It’s estimated that the Suez traffic jam caused<br />about $10 billion in delayed trade each day.
