Tag "Ever Given"

The accident of the large container freighter “Ever Given” (IMO 9811000) on March 23, 2021 in the Suez Canal will keep the global shipping industry busy for years to come. Many questions remain unanswered: Could an accident like this have happened in northern Germany, for example on the Elbe at the gates of the port of Hamburg? Or: What should be done to quickly remove a blockage? Hans von Wecheln, maritime consultant from Husum, shared his ideas with THB (Täglicher Hafenbericht) and FleetMon. We publish the letter with the kind approval of the THB chief editor.

First came the pandemic in 2020, something that roiled shipping and disrupted the supply chains in and out of China, which soon spread out to the rest of the world like wildfire. And then came one of the biggest hurdles the logistics industry has faced in years, the closure of the Suez Canal, dubbed by some as a ‘crisis’ and rightly so.

An estimated 12% of the world’s trade passes through the Suez Canal daily, representing almost $10 billion in trade on a good day as per Llyod’s List. Serving as the link between rising Asian powerhouses and relatively wealthier Europe, it is undoubtedly the most important waterway in the world.

There’s no denying that the Suez Canal is the world’s most important waterway. The reason: about 12% of the global trade flowing through a single canal, one connecting two continents – Asia and Europe. The canal is so strategic that world powers have fought over the waterway since it was completed in 1869.