That ship in the Suez. From gCaptain:
Ever Given Could Be Stuck for Weeks; Ship Owner Apologizes For Grounding
A container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a “beached whale” may take weeks to free, the salvage company said, as officials stopped all ships entering the channel on Thursday in a new setback for global trade.
The 400 m (430 yard) Ever Given, almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, is blocking transit in both directions through one of the world’s busiest shipping channels for oil and grain and other trade linking Asia and Europe.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said eight tugs were working to move the vessel, which got stuck diagonally across the single-lane southern stretch of the canal on Tuesday morning amid high winds and a dust storm.
“We can’t exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation,” Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis which is trying to free the ship, told the Dutch television program “Nieuwsuur.”
I am glad that I do not do retail in Europe. The Suez is a component of their primary supply chain and we just discovered what the term: "Single Point of Failure" is all about. I have a generally optimistic outlook on life but I know a bit about Engineering and this is going to take time. This is not just a matter of yanking on a rope. I would not be surprised if they had to excavate around her or if some structure had to be built for leverage or anchoring. There is no tide in the Mediterranean Sea to speak of but there is quite the flow in the Gulf of Suez off the Arabian Ocean. Powerful forces in play.
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