Page 33 - Insurance Times July 2021

It is insurers who will now mitigate the Y How many times has the Suez Canal been
losses arising out of this crisis and some of closed earlier?
According to the Suez Canal Authority, which maintains
the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
and operates the waterway, the Suez Canal has closed
which arise are : five times since it opened for navigation in 1869.

Y What happened in the Suez Canal in March Y Why is the Suez Canal important?
2021? The Suez Canal opened in 1869 and represented, along
In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days with the Panama Canal, one of the most significant
and seven hours after the grounding of Ever Given, a maritime "shortcuts" ever built. It reduced the journey
20,000 TEU container ship. The obstruction occurred from Asia to Europe by about 6,000 km by avoiding a
south of the section of the canal that had two channels, detour around the Cape of Good Hope. This famous
so there was no way for other ships to bypass Ever waterway is now one of the world's busiest shipping
Given. On 28 March, at least 369 ships were queuing lanes.
to pass through the canal. Its importance can also be gauged from the fact on
Location: Suez Canal, Suez, Egypt blockage of the Suez Canal many vessels were being
rerouted around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
Date: 23-29 March 2021
However, this detour adds an extra 6,000 miles to the
Duration: 6 days and 7 hours European shipping route and increases fuel costs by USD
300,000 per supertanker.
Y What caused the grounding of Ever Given?
The Ever Given, which is owned by the Japanese Y How many ships go through the Suez Canal
company Shoei Kisen Kaisha, was on charter to each day?
Taiwanese operator Evergreen at the time of the Although the canal's average daily traffic totals 40 to
incident. 50 ships, the maximum authorized number is 106

It was on its way to the port of Rotterdam in the vessels a day. On Aug. 2, 2019, 81 ships went through
Netherlands from China when it became grounded after the canal, breaking a record.
a sandstorm blew through the region. Visibility
plummeted and wind gusts reached speeds of up to 31 Y Who owns the Suez Canal today?
miles per hour. The canal is now operated by the state-owned Suez
At 7:42 A.M., on the 23rd March, 2021, the Ever Given Canal Authority and is a major money-earner for Egypt's
ran aground, driving its bulbous bow into the east bank government.
of the Suez Canal. A minute later its stern drifting
clockwise connected with the west bank and the Suez Y How much does Egypt earn from the Suez
Canal was then officially blocked. Canal?
In 2020, the total revenue generated amounted to 5.61
billion USD and 18,829 ships passed through the canal.

Y How much money did the Suez Canal lose in
this crisis?
The authority that operates the Suez Canal has
communicated that the crisis has cost the Egyptian
government a huge amount in lost toll revenue as
hundreds of ships waited to pass through the blocked
waterway or took alternative routes.
Y How was Ever Given refloated?
The Ever Given was stuck in the canal for six days, and
the effort to get it moving again required more than a

The Insurance Times, July 2021 33