(Photo : Getty Images/Mahmoud Khaled)
ISMAILIA, EGYPT - MARCH 30: A view of the ALMI ODYSSEY crossing Suez Canal on March 30, 2021 in Ismailia, Egypt. After nearly a week blocking the Suez Canal the container ship "Ever Given" was finally freed by salvage teams unblocking the vital shipping lane and allowing the backlog of vessels waiting at either end to begin transiting the canal, ending a crisis that had impacted global shipping and supply chains costing billions of dollars per day.
To commence their voyage out of the Suez Canal, the bridge of the oil tanker Navig8 Aronaldo erupted in merriment after Capt. Malik Naushad ordered his crew to prepare to weigh anchor at midnight on Tuesday. They had been stuck there for six days by the Ever Given's grounding.
Suez Canal Opens, but Effect of Ever Given Saga Will Be Felt
The mammoth cargo ship is now free. However, while traffic has now continued through the vital waterway, according to experts, the weeklong maritime jam could have a lasting impact.
Oil Falls as Suez Canal Opens
Oil prices diminished on Tuesday as the Suez Canal reopened to traffic. This is while the focus was shifted to an OPEC+ meeting this week. In the meeting, analysts expect an extension to supply curbs to offset unfavorable demand prospects, reported The Economic Times.
Brent crude decreased by 84 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $64.14 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate US oil ended the session, decreasing at $1.01, or 1.6%, at $60.55 per barrel. According to sources, the benchmarks held their losses in post-settlement trade following industry information displaying United States crude inventories swelling by 3.9 million barrels the previous week. They cited the American Petroleum Institute's weekly report. Analysts in a Reuters poll report a build of an estimated 100,000 barrels, reported Reuters.
Ships were sailing through the Suez Canal again one day following tugs refloating the Ever Given container carrier. The carrier had barred the passage for nearly a week. According to the canal's chairman, the backlog of 422 ships should be cleared by three and a half days.
Ever Given: Ship That Blocks Suez Canal, Now Partially Free
Ships That Have Started Sailing Again
After the massive container vessel blocking the vital trade route was freed, 37 ships struck at the midway point cleared the waterway overnight. Seventy others are slated to travel its whole length on Tuesday. The canal authorities are looking to clear the traffic jam of an estimated 300 vessels, reported BBC.
At the Jan Held's German offices, whose family firm has three varying ships stuck at Suez Canal, the mood was not as jubilant. Upon watching a live feed of the Ever Given moving off the bank, Held was aware uncorking the largest traffic jam in global shipping in the past few years could take a long time to tackle. This set off a scramble for clear routes and berths.
The maritime jam has already held up $9 billion in global trade one day. The jam also further hassled supply chains that were already strained by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ever Given saga left over 400 vessels, transporting everything from cattle to crude oil, stockpiled on either end of the canal as they awaited for the shipwrecked container ship to be refloated.
According to Rystad Energy's oil markets analyst Louise Dickson, the price gains that cumulated amid the Suez blockade were, as expected, short-lived. They are now being removed with the slow return to normal traffic. Saudi Arabia is geared toward accepting an extension of production cuts through June. It is also ready to prolong its own extra cuts during the most recent wave of coronavirus lockdowns.
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