The first ships choose to voyage around Africa rather than sail through the Suez Canal. The important shipping route for global trade is currently closed by the discontinued container vessel Ever Given. Due to uncertainty over how long the congestion of the canal will take, some ships are now choosing the longer route across the Cape of Good Hope.
This saves weeks of extra cruising time, which also results in additional costs and emissions. Two LNG tankers bound for Asia from the United States appear to have diverted their course in the mid-Atlantic to pass the Cape of Good Hope. Ships anchored in the Red Sea are reviewing their options and may also choose to make the voyage around Africa. This allows their travel time to be extended by up to two weeks.
Two major shipping companies AP Møller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd said earlier that their container ships could be diverted via the Cape of Good Hope.
Efforts are underway to re-float the 400-meter-long 224,000-ton sea. It remains unclear how long it will take to end the blockade of the important Egyptian waterway. Dutch Boskalis is involved in rescuing the ship through its subsidiary Smit Salvage.
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