Blocked Suez Canal - things that had never crossed my mind

I’m ok for toilet roll, just got 94 for just over £8 and 3.99 p+p, may seem excessive but was a good price and also I swear my family must eat it by the amount we get through

Teacheranne
Add a 24 toilet roll pack to your next Tesco click and collect. I can never understand any one buying a 9 roll pack unless they have to physically carry their shopping home.

suziewoosie

'fir'? years.

Well, yes of course, Suez being blocked will cause shortages.

We are surely all old enough to remember that that was precisely why Nasser closed it in the late 1950s and threatened to so so, or did so during the Six Days' War.

However, I read about ten years ago now that container ships are going round again, because they are just too big to go through the Suez canal.

Will the shipping companies be asking for their money back ( not being able to pass through the canal. It can be up to $300,000 a passage.

We did a cruise from Cyprus to Jordan through the Suez Canal a few years ago. The pilot who should have navigated our ship was involved in an accident on the way to the docks so we had to wait for a replacement and 'missed' our slot. I was surprised how narrow it was in places. There is a large lake in the middle where ships have to wait until the north/south canals are clear. Having missed our slot we were last and had to wait over 24 hours before we could head south. It is extremely hot and boring just sitting waiting.
Apart from the amount of containers make the ship lower in the water surely there should be a limit on the height of container ships for the same reason we would ban high sided lorries on motorway bridges during strong winds?

As others have said, my main concern is the livestock. They suffer terribly only to meet a miserable death at their destination. Time to ban transport of live animals.

Imagine how nervous the next captain to navigate the canal after the blockage is removed will feel...

I understand it was a combination of very high winds and a sandstorm that caused the accident.

Oil prices did rise but have dropped again.

Toilet rolls on order

Bow thrusters are brilliant

My late husabdn was in the Navy during the Suez crisis....he would have laughed at this ! Seriously though, it will affect trade for months ...what concerns me is the perishable goods and vaccines that some of those ships might contain ...even given another 14 days to round Cape Horn could be a problem. I HOPE there is no livestock on board ! I overlook the Tyne dock and often see ships queuing up to unload ...some are there for four days or more, but then some (perhaps containing perishable goods ?) seem to arrive over the horizon, pass the waiting ships, and go straight in ! Not sure how the marine docking system works ....a neighbour who worked there many years ago said the reason they sit out at sea is they have to pay to sit in the dock ....not obviously the case with the Ever Green ......I heard mention today that they may try to remove the containers to lighten the ship and hope it floats on the Spring Tide due soon ....BUT they then have a problem with finding cranes huge enough to unload those containers .........and I did see on the News today they now think it was a human error .....I would have thought so...wonder how many times that ship has navigated the canal ? and if anyone ever thought this a likely event and had a contingency plan ? seems not ....looks very narrow to me ! Just hope it will all solve itself before many weeks have passed ...don't think even helicopters could lift those containers ............such a shame !

Dodgy sat nav used there. On the news this morning they said there were Rubix Cubes on board, the guy asked "had it been stuck from the 1980s", I had to laugh. Seriously though, let's hope it doesn't stop important stuff coming our way. In N.Ireland we can't get things delivered from England since Brexit cos of the border checks, it's very frustrating.

One the bright side. Cape Town is happy about all the trade it will be getting. I think it takes about 12 extra days to travel via South Africa.
Will the gully gully men be sent on board to entertain all the crews? Perhaps they don’t go on ships these days.

don't think even helicopters could lift those containers ....

Someone said on twitter this morning that the US has helicopters that can lift tanks, so should be able to lift a container..

I've no idea if this is true..

Just read that 12% of world trade comes through the Suez canal!

shoppinggirl

As others have said, my main concern is the livestock. They suffer terribly only to meet a miserable death at their destination. Time to ban transport of live animals.

Totally agree.
Also to make more stuff here.

I saw today that one of the ships waiting to go through has a cargo of live animals! They should be the first in line

Worst case scenario in case of toilet roll shortage is that you wash you bits/bum with a piece of cloth, in the scheme of things and thinking about what some people have to deal with it’s not the worst thing that can happen! Food is far more important, don’t remember where toilet roll came on Maslows hierarchy of needs! ?

even given another 14 days to round Cape Horn could be a problem.

Now, that really would be going the long way round.

merlotgran

^even given another 14 days to round Cape Horn could be a problem.^

Now, that really would be going the long way round.

Round the World in 80 days!

And a ship's captain who needs to go back to navigation school!

shoppinggirl

As others have said, my main concern is the livestock. They suffer terribly only to meet a miserable death at their destination. Time to ban transport of live animals.

Hear hear

I think most of the raw material for toilet rolls comes from Canada so no fear of shortages

Things are moving. The tugs have managed to free the propeller and rudder and there has been some movement on the stern.

Merlotgran
If you were to watch the ‘moving’ satellite picture you would see that he was on course and the the stern just swung round.

Breaking news! Apparently Uri Geller is going to sort it all out