U.S. President Joe Biden said his administration was looking at what it could do to help, after the 400-metre long Ever Given ran aground in the vital trade waterway on Tuesday due to strong wind.
All its 25 crew members, who have remained on board, were safe, in good health and spirits, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement , the Ever Given’s technical manager said. “The tugging operations require the availability of a number of supporting factors including wind direction and tides, which makes it a complex technical process,” the authority said.
Ratings agency Moody’s expects Europe’s manufacturing and car parts suppliers to be most affected because they operate “just-in-time” supply chains, and said port congestion and further delays to the supply chain were “inevitable.”Retired British Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe said the best bet for the next attempt would be a high tide on Sunday, but because the ship was aground both front and rear there was a risk the hull could rupture if rescuers pulled too hard.
Data intelligence firm Kpler said 10 crude oil tankers were awaiting entry to the canal. About 4 million barrels of mostly Kazakh CPC Blend and some Russian Urals were waiting along with tankers carrying Libyan, Azeri and some North Sea crude oil for Asian refiners, traders said.