According to reports, at around 12 o'clock on the 23rd, a 20,000 TEU ultra-large container ship operated by Evergreen Shipping ran aground on the Suez Canal, causing traffic congestion on the Suez Canal channel.
It is understood that due to the sudden loss of power to the engine room, it lost control in the single channel of the Suez Canal.
Because it is a heavy-duty ship, the tugboat cannot be towed out. The only way is to use an excavator to excavate the earth and stone, and then use a high-horsepower tugboat to tow it out, so the Suez Canal will be blocked for at least a month.
The Suez Canal is an important shipping route. According to statistics, 20% of the world’s total maritime cargo traffic, 80% of the cargo traffic between Europe and Asia, and 25% of the world’s oil tankers pass through the Suez Canal. Market participants believe that the global container shipping industry is currently in a serious bottleneck period, and the Suez Canal channel is also one of the busiest channels in the world. This accident is likely to have a significant impact on the shipping industry, which has already fallen into the bottleneck of the supply chain, and even the entire shipping industry. The world shipping market prices may fluctuate sharply.
The ship departed from a Chinese port to the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It used to call my country's Kaohsiung, Qingdao, Shanghai Yangshan Port, Ningbo, Taipei, Yantian and other ports.
According to preliminary information, the black out of the entire ship’s power trip was a major cause of the grounding accident. Due to this accident, the 15 ships behind the EVER GIVEN were forced to stay in place. The navigation channel of the southbound fleet was also blocked. While waiting for the container ship to move, the tankers had begun to accumulate near the Suez Canal. It is expected that this stranding will have a domino effect on European routes, and a large number of routes may face delays!
A Singapore shipping broker said: "This may have a great impact on freight. If it lasts longer, it may cause two-way transportation delays."
Industry sources said the impact on oil and gas flows will depend on how long it takes to clean up the container ship.
Ashok Sharma, managing director of BRS Baxi, a Singapore-based ship brokerage company, said: “If it is extended to several weeks, it will of course disrupt all transportation to a large extent.”
According to SMM, the current bauxite transport from Guinea from Africa to China does not pass through the Suez Canal, and the supply of imported bauxite from China will not be blocked. But there are also feedback from industry insiders that it may increase ocean freight and indirectly affect ore prices.
According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, imports of zinc concentrate from Spain in 2020 amounted to 155,200 physical tons, accounting for 4.877% of total imports; in 2020, imports of zinc concentrate from Turkey reached 21,700 physical tons, accounting for 0.682 of total imports. %. In 2019, imports of zinc concentrate from Spain reached 277,800 physical tons, accounting for 7.568% of total imports; in 2019, imports of zinc concentrate from Turkey reached 17,400 physical tons, accounting for 0.474% of total imports.
Guosen Futures believes that this accident may become the most serious accident since the Suez Canal was interrupted for three days after the Liberian 100,000-ton tanker "Tropic Brilliance" stranded in 2004, although Japan and Singapore each had one ship during the period. Similar accidents occurred on ships, but they were resolved within a few hours. If the blockade continues, European and American refiners that rely on important Middle Eastern waterways to transport oil may be forced to find alternative supplies, which may push up the prices of alternatives. At the same time, the delivery of crude oil from the North Sea oil fields to Asia will also be restricted. Be wary of the possibility of changes in domestic energy futures night trading tonight and the possibility that it may affect other commodities. Recently, the market power game and industry black swan news frequently, the real economy is also facing the threat of economic recovery that may not be as expected Pay attention to risk control!
