As efforts to dislodge a giant container ship wedged in the Suez Canal have been unsuccessful so far, the world is hoping for a quick resolution to the situation that could potentially evolve into a global supply crisis.
Ever since the 1,300-feet long Ever Given ran aground on Tuesday, one of the world’s most important trade arteries has been clogged, forcing more than a hundred ships laden with oil and other cargo to anchor in the canal and the adjacent Red and Mediterranean Sea.
As billions of dollars’ worth of goods and supplies are stuck in what is essentially a giant seaborne traffic jam, the vulnerabilities of global supply chains are once again put on display. With every day, the financial damages caused by the delays are mounting. Meanwhile container ports around the world, which are already strained by heightened demand due to the pandemic, are bracing for chaos once the canal is passable again.
According to data published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), globalization has caused as steep increase in maritime trade over the past few decades, with the total volume growing from 4,000 million tons loaded in 1990 to more than 11,000 million tons loaded in 2019. Container shipping in particular has boomed over the past three decades, with total shipping volume growing nearly eightfold since 1990.
This chart shows the total volume of global maritime trade.
