Suez Canal: Why is freeing the stranded ship so complicated? | DW News

Experts are warning it could take weeks to dislodge a huge container ship blocking Egypt’s Suez canal. A fresh attempt today to refloat the vessel was not successful. Around 30 percent of the world’s shipping container volume transits through the canal DAILY. More than a hundred and fifty ships are now backed up, waiting to enter the waterway. The Suez Canal opens up a seven thousand kilometer route from Asia to Europe. The only alternative route - around the Horn of Africa - is much longer, but many ships are now opting for that detour. A prolonged closure of the Suez will almost certainly impact global trade, which has already been hit hard by the ship plugging the chokepoint that funnels 30 percent of the global seaborne meters long and weighing more than 200,000 tons, the “Ever Given“ has become an immovable barrier shutting down Egypt’s Suez Canal. With around 10 billion dollars in trade at stake every day, diggers, tugboats, dredgers and a team of Dutch ship salv