On the 30th of last month, an Egyptian coastline is patrolling the Suez Canal, which was blocked due to aground on the Ever Given. Suez = AFP Yonhap News
The Suez Canal in Egypt, which caused’logistics arteriosclerosis’ around the world, has been normalized. The global maritime trade flow, which was disrupted just 11 days after the super-large container ship Ever Given blocked the canal, has completely resumed. However, the battle is expected to intensify over the subject of responsibility and compensation for damage, and the aftermath is expected to be significant.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 4th (local time), the speed of operation of ships in both directions on the Suez Canal has now become unpredictably faster. When the Suez Canal Administration (SCA) declared the congestion the day before, 61 ships were still waiting in the canal, but on this day, a total of 85 ships, including those ships and ships that arrived after the support of the Ever Given, passed without difficulty.
Considering that the average daily daily traffic to Suez is 40,50, more ships than usual have passed through the canal. WSJ said, “Many of the vessels passing through the canal recently flew 8 to 10 knots faster than the maximum speed limit (7.6 to 8.6 knots, about 14 to 16 km per hour).” It means that the ships passed the canal at a higher speed than before to help resolve the congestion. After the Ever Given blocked the canal on the 23rd of last month, everything has returned to its original place in 11 days and 5 days after the support on the 29th.
However, the’second round’ surrounding compensation begins now. Egyptian authorities have already declared a claim for damages. SCA Commissioner Osama Ravi said in an interview with the local media on the 2nd, “We will claim more than 1 billion dollars (about 1.1 trillion won) in compensation.” It is an estimate that takes into account transportation charges, canal damage due to dredging and salvage operations, and equipment and labor costs. The Egyptian government even threatened not to release the Ever Given if it did not compensate for the damage.
Companies that have suffered tremendous losses due to transportation congestion are also keenly aware of the results of the investigation of the responsibility for aground of ships. The Suez Canal, which contains 14% of the international maritime trade volume and 10% of crude oil by sea, was blocked, causing great confusion in global commerce. Earlier, the shipping information company Lloyd List estimated that daily shipments of $9.6 billion (1.0 trillion won) worth of cargo between Asia and Europe were delayed due to the suspension of the canal operation. German insurance company Allianz saw trade losses of about 6 billion to 10 billion dollars a day (6.8 trillion to 11.3 trillion dollars). It is expected that it will take a long time to accurately calculate the amount of damage, but it is clear that astronomical compensation is inevitable. Considering the additional cost of cargo ships who chose the African continent bypass instead of the Suez Canal, the total damage could be snowballed.
However, it is unclear where the Egyptian authorities and victims will claim compensation. Once the results of the accident investigation by the authorities come out, it is highly likely that Japan’s Shoei Steamer, the owner of the Ever Given, and Taiwan’s Evergreen, the ship operator, will be held responsible.
Heo Gyeongju reporter [email protected]
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