Japan is toying with the idea of sending vessels around South Africa as an alternative route for ocean freight because of the ongoing imbroglio between one of its ship owners, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) after a container vessel got stuck in the waterway.
The news comes at a time when Shoei Kisen and the SCA are firing broadsides at one another over who was responsible for the headline-grabbing fiasco at the end of March when one of its carriers with 20 388 containers, the Ever Given, got stuck in the southern channel of the Suez.
Yoshitsugu Hayashi, professor of transportation policy and systems at Chubu University in Nagoya, believes it’s a sensible move for Japanese companies to at least look into alternative routes, but he warns that they must remember that each of those will also have drawbacks.
Hayashi explained that there were three alternative routes available to link East Asia with Europe, while a fourth was under development.
He said the first was around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, which was the route used before the 193km Suez Canal was completed in November 1869. The second alternative is the Arctic route, north of Russia.
The third alternative is the Trans-Siberian Railway.
One Japanese company, Hankyu Hanshin Express, launched its rail transport service using the Trans-Siberian Railway in January, pointing out that the route takes two weeks less than by sea and is half the price of air transportation.
Meanwhile, Shoei Kisen Kaisha has expressed its unhappiness about being caught up in a legal battle over the accident.
The Ever Given is still being held by the SCA after an Egyptian court granted its request to hold on to the ship until the owner makes payment as compensation for the accident.
The SCA claims that the six-day blockage of the canal led to losses of up to a billion, causing it to issue an initial bill of $916 000 in damages, loss of reputation, and salvaging expenses.
That amount was subsequently reduced to $600 000 and again to $550 000 provided that Shoei Kisen Kaisha pays $200 000 up front to have the vessel released from Great Bitter Lakes where it’s impounded.
Shoei Kisen Kaisha has issued a counter claim of $100 000 for delay-related costs.
The matter will again be heard in an Egyptian court this Friday. – ANA
