Mega ship blocking the Suez Canal after running aground could cause 'catastrophic delays' to food and vaccine deliveries expert warns as mission to free the 1,312ft, 200,000-ton vessel begins
One of the world's busiest shipping lanes has been blocked by one of the world's largest container ships, halting 10 per cent of global trade and leaving workers in a race against time to free her. The 1,312ft-long, 175ft-wide, 200,000-ton MV Ever Given became stuck across the Suez Canal, Egypt, around 7.40am local time on Tuesday - drifting across the waterway and getting wedged with her bow against the eastern wall and her stern against the western one (left). It is not clear exactly how the accident happened, with officials variously blaming a power cut on the ship and a freak gust of wind. But what is clear is the need to free the ship as fast as possible. Every day the vessel remains wedged, 10 per cent of oceangoing trade cannot move and around 50 container ships get tangled in the traffic jam, with some 100 already stuck (top and bottom right). That means vital supplies including Covid vaccines, food, fuel, manufacturing goods are piling up, threatening 'catastrophic' consequences.
