Suez Canal: the giant freighter stuck promises a wave of lawsuits and unleashes jokes of all kinds

03/25/2021 1:41 PM

• Clarín.com

• World

Updated 03/25/2021 4:54 PM

More than 150 ships were on Thursday stopped waiting for the gigantic cargo ship

Ever Given to

come out of its jam, stranded in the middle of the crucial

Suez Canal

in Egypt;

one of the main commercial routes in the world, blocked for more than 48 hours by this four-block-long monster.

The container ship grounded and was completely crossed covering the entire width of the channel, and unable to move.

And the saga unleashed all kinds of jokes, when a small bulldozer approached the canal stuff in an attempt to help move the skyscraper-sized mass. 

The unusualness of the situation mixed with the seriousness of the painting gave rise to a succession of memes and funny comments.

I hope they call Rubble to unclog the #EVERGIVEN of the #Suez Channel

There is nothing impossible for The

Paw

Patrol!

pic.twitter.com/HItqMn44qa

- Keep It Cutre © (@ keepitcutre1) March 25, 2021

Look also

In photos: more than 100 ships are waiting to pass through the Suez Canal, blocked by a freighter that has run aground

According to official information, a sandstorm in the Canal that joins the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and shortens the trade route between Europe and Asia caused the container ship to be blocked on Tuesday at the southern end of the road.

Although there is also talk of the possibility of an electrical blackout on board.

But the company that manages the ship, BSM, denied this information.

Rescue units immediately went to work to unlock the ship and unblock the passage, but until Thursday the efforts seemed futile.

Eight tugs were trying to move the boat, which has a load capacity of

224 thousand tons

and 400 meters in length and where up to

three football fields

could fit inside

.

A little humor

The "rain" of memes did not wait after the dissemination of the images of the small excavator trying to unlock the gigantic ship. 

The image that sparked all kinds of jokes.

Photo: EFE

From ironic images showing how only two men and an excavator try to unlock the ship, to references to Covid-19 (showing the ship as if it were the virus and the workers trying to tow it as the people who want to walk freely and without fear to the pandemic), memes have spread the internet making fun of the situation.

A user is grateful that thank God that day "I decided to take the Panama Canal."

But if you talk about memes, the most famous without a doubt was the one that shows the fictional British spy, Austin Powers, trying to make a U-turn in a very narrow corridor. 

Freighter in the Suez Canal: memes

Wit and humor in the networks

Honorable mention pic.twitter.com/Ci4q0lK4vW

- Ben Harris-Roxas (@ben_hr) March 24, 2021

Consequences of traffic jam

The traffic jam will bring bad news for Ever Given owners.

They could have to face

millions of dollars

in insurance claims, mainly due to damage to the ship and claims from other ships for the delays that are causing them to deliver the merchandise that, in many cases, is perishable food and would go bad. if they don't arrive on time.

Also the costs of the salvage: if it turns out that it was not just an accident but something that could have been avoided, the expenses should be absorbed by the owners of the Ever Given.

The gigantic bow of the Ever Given on the desert shores of the Suez Canal.

Photo: AP

According to Reuters, the ship is owned by the Japanese company Shoei Kisen KK, and the company's insurers would have to face claims from the Suez Canal Authority for the loss of income from at least 30 ships that are delayed. and they cannot deliver their goods.

Marcus Baker, global head of shipping and freight at insurance brokerage Marsh, further emphasized the issue: "If there's a constant backlog of ships, there are massive problems in the supply chain."

Baker told Reuters.

In addition to the regular ships that transport goods such as perishable food, it was also reported that about 20 oil tankers are affected by the jam.

A busy route

The Suez Canal is a 163 km long canal on the coast of Egypt, which links the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and streamlines the shipping trade between Europe and South Asia.

Its route allows ships to navigate there and therefore avoid having to skirt the African continent.

12% of world trade transits its waters.

Although it has restrictions on the sizes of the ships that can navigate it, they are

less rigorous

than those of the Panama Canal.

During the whole of last year, 18,829 vessels transited the waters of the Suez Canal, with 1,170 million tons at cost and this generated revenues for Egypt of more than 5 and a half billion dollars.

Pivot!

pic.twitter.com/NqqxoguqRV

- Ben Harris-Roxas (@ben_hr) March 25, 2021

This same Thursday, new maneuvers will be tried to unlock the boat, with an "elite rescue squad" that joined from the Netherlands, as confirmed by the authorities.

With information from AFP, Business Insider and The Guardian

ap

Look also

Video: the impressive line of boats waiting to enter the Suez Canal

A gigantic cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal: how it affected world trade