Have you experienced anytime that horrible choking where a tiny food particle is stuck in your throat and you are just not able to breathe, eat, walk, do anything. You are looking for the push to push off the particle. What a relief!
Till last week 'breaking news' was the 'Evergreen' ship blocked the Suez canal. The whole week, every time I read about this bottle neck situation, I was imagined above scenario. Sorry for my poor imagination.
Seriously, can you imagine, 'Suez Canal' which is one of the world's busiest trade routes had been blocked by mega container ship. This ship blocked the crucial water way for almost a week. As per various sources available online and through print media, it was an unexpected turn which nobody thought will become real pain in the neck.
The 'Evergreen Ship' is as large as the Empire State building in New York City. On 23rd March, technical error and human error (as per news reports) led to block nearly the entire width of the canal. More than 350 vessels were trapped in a massive maritime traffic jam in the canal, according to Leth Agencies. Many other shipping companies opted to detour around the southern tip of Africa.
In an effort to dislodge the ship more than 20,000 tons of sand had been removed, tug boards pulled and pushed the ship. The commercial world was shaken as this crisis had crippled global supply chain. German insurer Allianz said on Friday its analysis showed the blockage could cost global trade between $6bn to $10bn a week and reduce annual trade growth by 0.2 to 0.4 percentage points.
Whom to blame? Team navigating the ship? human desire and ambition to go big and bigger? Or (Over) dependence on technology and automation?
Or, should we just sit back and enjoy the fun and circulate few memes on it? Why not? It's certainly better than pandemic blues. There are no deaths, there is no damage to vessel, there is no climate threat (as of now no news about oil leakage). Financial losses in terms of delay in supply chain is evident and is in billions of dollars. Isn't it still manageable than saving human race from COVID?
Moreover, media too got something new to cover, capture, report and discuss. People too started googling more about Suez canal and related posts. History linked with Suez crisis was discussed and trade pundits provided relative data on loss of trade. Artists took plunge in bringing interesting memes and WhatsApp- Insta got buzzed with new news! And bloggers like me could add another post.
At last from last Sunday overnight(28/3/21), dredgers, tugboats and salvage crews worked frantically and had succeeded at freeing the boat’s stern by Monday morning, aided by the unusually high spring tide that arrived with the full moon. That last push helped to clear the pathway! Marine traffic is back in motions. Global trade back in motion! What a relief!!
NOW WHAT??? Back to.... P.....
Photo credit- https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/25/middleeast/suez-canal-ship-blockage-intl-hnk/index.html
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Awesome work 🙌🏻🙌🏻