There’s a major traffic jam on the Suez Canal.
One of the largest ships in the world, Ever Given, is lodged in the relatively narrow canal, a major artificial waterway where some $9 billion in merchandise passes daily. Around 12 percent of global trade carefully navigates via the historic canal, which opened more than 150 years ago.
Satellite images captured by the European Space Agency show the backlog of ships created by the accidentally stuck Ever Given, which is deeply lodged in the canal’s sandy floor.
On the left is a normal ship traffic day (March 21). On the right is the growing backlog stoked by the blocked canal (March 25).
Shipping traffic on March 20.
Image: esa
Shipping traffic on March 25.
Image: esa
Though many giant container ships are clearly still waiting for Ever Given to move, others are choosing the popular route from…centuries ago. These ships are electing to round Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
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Refloating the stuck ship isn’t a simple operation. A company managing the ship, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said in a statement that canal operators will scoop and suck sand around the vessel, among other tactics, to try and dislodge Ever Given.
While that happens, enjoy the memes.