A large Evergreen container ship has run aground in the Suez Canal after losing the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm.
According to various reports the vessel ran aground diagonally across the single-lane stretch of the southern canal on Tuesday.
“This is causing a huge traffic jam of vessels at either end of the vital international trade route. The Ever Given, registered in Panama, was bound for the port city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China and was passing northwards through the canal on its way to the Mediterranean,” a FreshPlaza report read.
“Several dozen vessels, including other large container ships, tankers carrying oil and gas, and bulk vessels hauling grain have backed up at either end of the canal to create one of the worst shipping jams seen for years,” according to an IOL report.
Several tug boats have come to the aid of the container ship.
It has been reported that approximately 10% of global trade passes through the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and provides the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.
