Blocked Suez Canal - things that had never crossed my mind

Pinnywinch

I learnt about the Suez Canal when I was 6. My father was posted to Aden (South Yemen) and of course we went too. Our boxes with our possessions in got stuck in the Suez Canal for weeks. I remember my delight when they turned up!

Same here. I was nine. We had to fly out to Aden instead of sailing on the SS Nevasa. We must have been there at the same time, Pinnywinch

Our deep sea luggage took ages to arrive as well.

GrowingOldDisgracefully, Costco and Cosco are different companies. You would most likely have seen Cosco containers. It stands for China Ocean Shipping Company.
Hope they manage to clear it up soon.

Thank goodness I had the forethought of going back to bulk buying my toilet rolls. I couldn't find the one I used to buy so went for...wait for it...96 rolls of 3 ply Cusheen tp @£24.99 which I am sharing with my children. On eBay, if anyone is interested.

It's off!

They managed to move it very early this morning.

So hold the bulk buying of toilet rolls

I thought it was only partially moved MaizieD have things changed now.

Breaking news

sodapop

I thought it was only partially moved MaizieD have things changed now.

You're right, sodapop. I was carried away by deceptive headlines.

Only moved the back end. The bows are still stuck in the mud.

Congratulations to all involved in this project. To get the ship off the bank without tearing the hull or breaking it and without having to unload it is quite a feat.

Now let's see what happens when three hundred or so ships all make for port at the same time!

Another with memories of the Suez Canal and Aden in the 1950s. We were on our way to Hong Kong, during the Korean War. Hong Kong was the British supply base and R&R centre for British troops during that time.

I remember all the traders clustering round our troop ship selling things, the Suez Canal was narrower then and ships went through in convoys, first one direction then the other and passed each other in the Bitter lakes.

How ridiculous is this? An English company purchases oak in France which is then shipped to China to be made into flooring and then shipped to the UK. Why on earth can't the oak be processed in France or the UK? I guess it's the cost.

The flooring and IKEA stuff are in containers on one of the boats that have been held up.

13 container ships with live animals from Roumania some or all, I'm not sure which, going to Jordan. Egypt sending fodder and vets to help the animals. It's really time that the EU called a halt to member countries shipping live animals.

Totally agree Dinahmo

This from BBC News (Dec 20):

Sending live animals abroad for slaughter and fattening will be banned in England and Wales under new plans. Environment Secretary George Eustice said the ban could be in force by the end of 2021 in a post-Brexit break from EU trade rules.
??

Dinahmo
I’m puzzled by the live animals from Romania. The last port of call before she run aground was Malaysia. Economically that just doesn’t make sense.

It's 13 container ships, not the one that's run aground.

The EverGiven is on the move and once safety checks have been carried out, it's heading for Felixtowe... Look out, Suffolk!

13 container ships with live animals from Roumania some or all, I'm not sure which, going to Jordan

I don't have a degree in geography but I don't understand how that can be.

I've been scratching my head as well, Callistemon

Neither do I, but I heard that this morning on tv.

It must be misinformation.

Yes, got it now, perhaps they cannot travel overland.

Blinko

The EverGiven is on the move and once safety checks have been carried out, it's heading for Felixtowe... Look out, Suffolk!

I thought that Felixstowe was packed to overflowing with containers full of very expensive PPE. It was 11,000 at one time.

Do they have space for 20,000 more?

MaizieD Have you seen the port at Felixstowe? It is a dedicated container port that will probably unload and reload the Evergiven and have it on its way back to China within 24 hours.

It is ENORMOUS. They run special trips down the river from Ipswich to see it. Have a look at it on Google Earth. The picture there seems to have been taken on the one day when ;lots of ships had gone out. Just looked it up. It handles 3,000 ships and 4 million containers a year. 11,000 PPE containers, is nothing!

Romania’s largest market for their sheep is the Middle East ( the business is huge)
The only container port is at Port Said so the sheep would have been off loaded there to travel overland.
Sloppy reporting by the journalist.

? a new tourist attraction?

MerylStreep

Romania’s largest market for their sheep is the Middle East ( the business is huge)
The only container port is at Port Said so the sheep would have been off loaded there to travel overland.
Sloppy reporting by the journalist.

Could the ship transporting live animals have been going down the Suez Canal and then up the Gulf of Aqaba to the port there?

Nonetheless, the ethical part of this is a problem between the EU and the nations to which they export live animals.

The sooner the UK bans this post-Brexit the better, we understand it could be by the end of this year.