Shweta

BOAT STUCK IN SUEZ CANAL On 23 March 2021, Ever Given (the largest cargo ship of 400 m long) was travelling through Suez Canal, when it was caught in a sandstorm resulted in loss of ability to steer the ship and in order to save itself it turned and blocked the canal on both the sides. Ever Given was travelling from China to Netherlands and blockage had obstructed over 300 vessels at both the ends of canal. Egyptian authorities subsequently stated that strong winds may not have been the only reason for the grounding and that there may have been technical or human errors as well. On 29 March, the vessel was partially re-floated and "reorientated 80 percent in the right direction” although the "bow remained stuck". The ship was finally freed that afternoon and started moving, under tow, towards the Great Bitter Lake, for technical inspection. The canal was checked for damage before it could be reopened. About Suez Canal The Suez Canal is one of the world’s most important trading routes opened in 1869 and get nationalised in 1956. It was constructed in the colonial period by Britishers to facilitate the transportation of goods and raw materials between Britain and India. It is man-made canal connecting Mediterranean Sea in north and Red Sea in south. It also separates Asia and Africa. It is the shortest route between Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Europe. It is one of the world’s most heavily used for shipping lanes, carrying over 12% of global trade by volume. It provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo being shipped from east to west. As per Suez Canal Authority (SCA) data, in 2020, nearly 19,000 ships, or an average of 51.5 ships per day, with a net tonnage of 1.17 billion tonnes passed through canal. This canal is major source of income of Egypt with African country earning USD 5.61 billion in revenues from it last year. The canal is not wide enough to allow traffic to travel in both directions at once; convoys of ships must take turns transiting these segments of the waterway In 2015, Egypt announced plans to further expand the Suez Canal aiming to reduce waiting times and double the number of ships that can use the canal daily by 2023. Responses after incident Officials initially planned to move two vessels from behind Ever Given to make room for the refloating operation. On 25 March, the SCA authority suspended navigation through the Suez Canal until Ever Giver could be refloated. On 26 March, the SCA accepted an offer made by a United States Navy assessment team of dredging experts to assist in efforts to remove the ship. As of 27 March, more than 300 ships were delayed at both ends and in the middle of the canal, with others still approaching and others having altered their paths. On 28 March, efforts to dislodge the ship allowed for some movement of the ship's stern and its rudder at high tide, and SCA chairman Rabie said that water has been running under the ship again. On 29 March, Ever Given was refloated near the king tide of a supermoon. It took 14 tugboats at high tide to dislodge the 224,000-ton vessel. The ship's stern had swung around and was in the middle of the waterway. The vessel was finally freed and moving again and was towed to the Great Bitter Lake for inspection. The canal authority informed shipping agencies that the canal was to reopen for shipping from 19:00 local time. Global Economic Impact The incident likely resulted in shipping delays of everyday items for customers around the world. Lloyd’s List estimates the value of the goods delayed each hour at US $ 400 million, and that every day it takes to clear the obstruction will disrupt an additional US $9 billion worth of goods. Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy and Economic Research, attributed a rise in oil prices to "people buying in after recent declines in oil prices, with the Suez closing the trigger factor." There have been already shortages in vessels and containers which is going to increase due to the incident and this will increase the cost of transportation. Impact on India’s Economy This route is used for India’s exports/imports worth USD 200 billion from North America, South America, and Europe. This includes petroleum goods, crude oil, organic chemicals, iron and steel, automobile, machinery, textiles and carpets, handicrafts including furniture, leather goods etc. India’s Four Point Plan To Reduce the Impact 1. FIEO and other stakeholders will jointly identify cargo particularly perishable cargo for priority movement and work with the shipping lines for the same. 2. Ensure that the freight rates as per existing contracts will be honoured. A request has been made to the shipping lines to maintain stability in freight rates during the period of this crisis. 3. Once the blockage is over, it is expected that some bunching may take place, especially at the ports of JNPT, Mundra and Hazira. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways assured to issue an advisory to these ports so as to gear up arrangements and ensure efficient handling during the forthcoming busy period. 4. Shipping lines were advised to explore the option of routing of ships via the Cape of Good Hope. Alternative Routes The default alternative route for maritime traffic between Asia and Europe is to go around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, a trip which can add up to two weeks to journey time, with this alternative having already been taken by some ships as of 26 March. Russia has used this incident to promote its Arctic shipping routes as a shorter alternative to carrying goods around Africa. Need of the Hour 1. INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) Corridor needs to be completed connecting Iran, Afghanistan, and India to Russia and then to West. 2. Expansion of Suez Canal is necessary to be completed to facilitate the transportation and this will help in easy and fast travel of containers and vessels.