Massive container ship causes traffic jam at Suez Canal; Twitter reacts
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The 200,000-tonne vessel was heading to the Mediterranean from the Red Sea when it suffered a blackout and halted
A container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal on Tuesday has caused a major traffic jam, blocking other vessels’ access to the world’s most important water route.
The 200,000-tonne vessel was heading to the Mediterranean from the Red Sea when it suffered a blackout and halted.
According to the port agency GAC, over 15 ships immediately behind the vessel were stopped. Many other convoys have also been stopped. The container ship called “Ever Given” is 400 metres long, 59 metres wide, and is qualified to carry up to 20,000 20-foot equivalent containers for shipping.
Here are a few reactions on Twitter
If you think youre having a bad day, spare a thought for the helmsman who somehow managed to stick his giantass ship sideways into the goddamn Suez Canal & blocked it into literal gridlock & is currently costing every seafaring nation of Earth like millions of dollars every hour pic.twitter.com/DIWAxwctXa
— Shiv Ramdas (@nameshiv) March 24, 2021
*record scratch* #SuezCanal pic.twitter.com/wYTysNycOD
— Acting Secretary Gritty (@thrognar) March 24, 2021
#SuezCanal live view of the captain of the MV Ever Given. pic.twitter.com/sykfPduYSv
— William Blood (@MultipleMigzs) March 24, 2021
For the record, "giant ship gets stuck in the Suez Canal" is a great part of a heist plot.
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) March 24, 2021
Hey sorry I'm late. The vessel EVER GIVEN (IMO: 9811000, MMSI: 353136000) was blocking the Suez Canal
— Brooks Otterlake (@i_zzzzzz) March 24, 2021
twitter hasn't talked about the suez canal this much since 1956
— the not relaxed guy (@mice_nerd) March 24, 2021
According to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) , nearly 19,000 ships passed through the canal in 2020. This implies that an average of 51.5 ships travelled through the canal each day.
The canal is the major source of currency for Egypt, and 12 per cent of all the world trade passes through the Suez. Owing to the blockade, many tankers and ships are now piled up near the canal, hoping for the ship to be moved.
Oil and gas flows will be affected majorly if the path is not cleared soon.