A Hong Kong-flagged vessel got aground in the Suez Canal, as we discovered early Thursday morning.
At present, another container ship, a Hong-Kong-flagged, 189-metre-long ship named Xin Hai Tong 23, got aground on the southern mouth of the canal, leading to traffic in the canal. A ship had been discovered this morning that was on its way from Tokyo to Rotterdam. The ship had been from the Leth Shipping Agency, which has caused confusion in the shipping industry presently. Experts had been in chaos, as this can lead to devastating effects on the economy, as happened in the case of Ever Given, when the world faced an economic crisis due to the blocking of the global trading system.
Suez canal
The Sure Canal was built on November 17, 1869, with the idea of boosting trade and commerce from Europe to Asia through seaways. The canal helped the European powers triumph over the waterway trade in the late 19th century. The canal was in use until today because of its efficiency and strategic location in connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, which further opens into the Arabian Sea. Providing a fully functional and connected waterway to be used by the then-colonial powers to extend their trade relations and further expand their control through waterways.
The Suez Canal is an artificially built, 193.03-metre-long canal carved out to join the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. The canal starts from Port Said and ends at Port Suez, a narrow, long waterway providing efficient water transportation facilities. It passes through the Isthmus of Suez. The waterway is located in Egypt, dividing the Asian and African continents with the artificially built narrow link between the two ports.
Significance of the Suez Canal
From the late 19th century on, it played an integral role in speeding up trade and commerce. It acts as a catalyst for improving the trade link as well as the colonies built by the colonial powers. At that time, European powers or European companies needed to cross the whole African continent in order to reach the Asian continent or the Asian subcontinent, which was at that time a hub of trade and commerce. As the Suez Canal opened, it reduced the time and energy needed to cover the large distances.
Colonial powers have made the most of this waterway, as the reduced distance has improved their efficiency in connecting and trading with people across the globe. The opening of the Suez Canal played a great role in helping European powers triumph in setting up global influence and global trade. That’s about the past rendering of the contemporary scenario: the Suez Canal was playing an integral role in changing the pace of trade and commerce.
Today, around 30% of the world’s shipping volume and 12% of the total global trade pass through the Suez Canal. In recent times, there has been an issue of blockages, which are putting a hindrance to global trade and leading to an economic crisis. Such a crisis also took place in the year 2021 when Ever Given, the largest container ship, got stuck in the canal. Devastating effects had been noticed in global scenarios.
Current situation
Rendering about the present crisis 189-metres-long long Xin Hai Tong 23 got jammed in the Suez canal leading to blockages and difficulties in the transportation of goods and supplies from the Suez canal. this can turn into a big global economic crisis if the ship don’t get removed from the canal’s southern part.
The Suez Canal is the busiest canal in the world due to its strategic location as well as its importance in global trade and commerce. Turning out to be impassable due to the blocking of the ships in the passageway, creating problems and devastating effects in global scenarios. Hence, all we can do is observe the global scenario and hope for the best. Needed efforts are being made by the Egyptian government to remove the blockage and improve the global flow of the economy.
