As probably everyone knows the Suez canal got blocked a week ago by Ever Given , the 20,388 teu that got stuck across the canal. The Suez Canal Authority got unblocked on March 29th after a week of being stuck. Sources on site say the ship is fully mobile, but the decision has been made to take the ship under tow to the Bitter Lake to the north. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) will soon be in a position to start to get convoys underway to move the hundreds of ships waiting at either end of the vital waterway linking Europe with Asia.
The Ketchup effect – as many can imagine – describes a situation or event where not much happens for a long time, and then a lot happens at once. The significance of ketchup will be clear to anyone who has ever tried to pour the sauce from a glass bottle — usually it takes several seconds before any comes out, and then you get a huge amount. There’s no doubt that the current Suez Canal blockage is going to result in one of the biggest disruptions to global trade in recent years. After the release of the ship, vessels will arrive in a large spike from the opening of the canal, creating significant congestion on the European ports. This will then be followed by a shortfall, followed by another spike when the delayed ships who have taken the Cape of Good Hope detour will arrive.
Everyone being affected by this so called calamity, Egypt could be lining up a $1bn claim in damages after the 20,388 teu Ever Given giant container vessel caused a headline grabbing traffic jam in the Suez Canal for almost a week. The backlog of vessels waiting to transit Suez was cleared over the weekend and maybe the beginning of this week. As for the Ever Given, it could be held in Egypt if the matter of compensation goes to court, however Rabie believes that such a scenario is unlikely.
