After days of salvage work the Ever Given vessel finally floats again. While the rear end could already be freed in the morning, the bow remained stuck. But in the afternoon the operators were able to refloat the entire vessel with the help of the high spring tide and they succeeded to detach the bow from the seabed. The waterway is expected to be reopened as soon as the vessel is towed for inspection. In the meantime, the backlog on the Suez Canal has increased to more than 370 ships.

Carriers are still evaluating whether to change the routing of their vessels from the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope (which adds between 7 to 10 days to transit time) and would imply up to 14 days delay (considering waiting times). Over the weekend some major liners have already started to route the vessels via South Africa.

Impact on the lead times: This heavily depends on when the Suez Canal is completely unblocked and how long it will take to clear the backlog. In the Asia-Europe trade, for those vessels which are waiting outside the canal, the total delays are up to 14 days. For those vessels which can amend their routing and do not need to completely turn around from their route to Suez, the delays are of over a week.

Equipment and Blank Sailings: In practical terms, a delay of 7 days on all vessels generates a similar capacity crunch as a blank sailing. If we consider that all the delays Westbound will imply a delay on the departures on East-bound, and viceversa, we can see how the problem will compound. This leads to both problems on capacity, but also equipment issues, as the containers cannot be repositioned in time.

Our Landbridge Service as an alternative solution

Swift to our Landbridge service as alternative solution, which enables a sustainable and on time transport along the New Silk Road Rail Connection. The lead time is currently 21 days.

Please contact our product manager for booking requests: 

Yannik Böttcher
Head of Landbridge Product Management
Tel.: +49 (0) 40 369016308
Cell: +49 (0) 1511 1683643

The Ever Given vessel operated by Evergreen ran aground in the Suez Canal after a power failure on board on Tuesday morning, halting traffic in both directions. Whilst the vessel has been partially refloated, efforts to dislodge it from the Suez Canal continue.

What does this mean for your shipments?

With an average of over 50 vessels passing through the canal daily and close to 200 ships which are caught up in the traffic snarl in both directions and carry about 12% of global trade, there is a clear backlog at the canal which puts additional pressure on the already stressed supply chains. 

For those customers with shipments not on board of the Ever Given vessel, but in the Asia-Europe West-bound or East-bound trade lanes and about to transit via Suez during these days, might expect delays that will be closely related to the lifespan of this incident. Some vessels might be able to cover or compensate for part of that delay through reducing the calls to some ports.

For those customers with shipments on board of the Ever Given vessel, the delays will depend firstly on the time it takes for the vessel to be completely dislodged and then surveyed. Then based on the results, we will have an approximate idea of the expected delays, which can end up being multiple weeks if the vessel cannot proceed to its planned sailing due to hull or bottom damage.

Although most shipping lines have announced no major changes to the sailing schedules, in the event that the situation lasts for a few more days, some vessels will probably reroute via the “Cape of Good Hope”, adding up to two extra weeks on the transit time. The longer it takes for the Suez Canal to resume activities, the more severe are the consequences for this trade lane. In the event that the incident extends for a few more days, we should expect blank sailings, freight rate increases, equipment restrictions and further space tension. 

Rhenus Landbridge as an alternative

With our Landbridge service we offer you an alternative. Transport your cargo sustainably and on time along the new Silk Road Rail connection. 

Please contact our product manager for booking requests: 

Yannik Böttcher
Head of Landbridge Product Management
Tel.: +49 (0) 40 369016308
Cell: +49 (0) 1511 1683643