When I read the news about the Suez Canal it occurred to me that it’s an accomplishment that “crisis in the Suez Canal” today means a shipping accident, not a war. Nevertheless, the fact that there is a ship blocking one of the busiest shipping routes in the world and is costing a lot of people a lot of money. So here is what has happened and the inevitable memes that this has led to:
We all learned in school how the construction of the Suez Canal changed the way the world traded. This short video explains the continuing importance of this narrow waterway even today.
What seemed to be a simple problem has proved difficult and intractable. Some predict a very dire scenario.
Now a massive container ship, the length of four football fields has run aground in the channel. It is a serious situation, but it is also one made for memes.
The name of the stuck ship is Ever Given, owned by the company Evergreen. The 400-mt. ship was travelling from China to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, just FYI.
About 50 or more ships pass through the channel each day and the blockage has now caused a logjam of ships on either side.
You know how we can rate monuments, historical spots and attractions on Google? Apparently, this is possible as well – I have to admit this 'review' cracked me up.
According to reports, it was a gust of wind that blew the ship off course. Very expensive wind it has to be said. Each hour that the canal remains blocked costs about $400 million.
People are wondering if there is more to this than meets the eye – whether this is a deliberate ploy by some shady entity. The logjam has already had worldwide repercussions - crude prices have already risen by about $4 a barrel.
In many ways, the ship stuck in the Suez Canal is a metaphor for life itself.
Even useless ones.
Push, pull --- people had all these suggestions.
That is an amazing dog!
SpaceX is one suggestion. I like how the guy labelled his diagram including ‘strong rope’.
Experts have been trying for days to dislodge the stuck ship. Waiting for the tide, unloading cargo are some options but so far nothing has worked.
The Indian government has come up with a four-point plan to deal with the problem: prioritisation of cargo, freight rates, advisory to ports and rerouting of ships.
…For divine intervention. Perhaps it’s required because right now, there seems to be no solution in sight for the ship stuck in the Suez Canal.
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