EMEA News
Suez Canal Traffic to Resume Within Hours After Refloating of Ever Given
Traffic through the Suez Canal is expected to resume within hours after a breakthrough in shifting the boxship Ever Given over the weekend.
The 20,000 TEU container ship has been turned to lie parallel with the canal, allowing smaller ships to pass, news agency Reuters reported on Monday. The agency cited two sources as saying the ship will undergo initial inspections before being moved.
The Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday, blocking one of the most important chokepoints for global shipping. A backlog of at least 369 ships waiting to traverse the canal will now need to be cleared, while others will need to wait longer for shipments that have now been rerouted on a longer journey around Africa to avoid Suez.
The delays seen so far will have given a temporary boost to bunker demand at Suez and nearby ports. A more prolonged delay may have boosted demand at the largest global hubs if the majority of ships chose to avoid the canal for weeks, but this is now unlikely.
