Suez Canal blockage reportedly costing $400 million an hour, could last 'weeks'


A massive container ship is still stuck in the Suez Canal — and the situation could possibly take "weeks" to resolve.
On Tuesday morning, the Ever Given, a cargo ship that's about a quarter mile long, became stuck in Egypt's Suez Canal, blocking shipping traffic. By Thursday, it had yet to be successfully moved, and according to Axios, "about 100 ships are stuck in the canal waiting to pass through." Bloomberg also reports that a "rough estimate" based on information from Lloyd's List indicates that "the blockage is costing about $400 million an hour," as westbound traffic is reportedly worth about $5.1 billion a day, while eastbound traffic is worth about $4.5 billion a day.
The ship could potentially be there for a while longer, too. The Financial Times quotes the chief executive of Boskalis, which is involved in the ongoing rescue operation, as saying, "The more secure the ship is, the longer an operation will take. It can take days to weeks. Bringing in all the equipment we need, that's not around the corner." At the very least, it sounds like the blockage might last a few more days, as Bloomberg reports that "the best chance for freeing the ship may not come until Sunday or Monday, when the tide will reach a peak."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ultimately, economist John Glen told the Financial Times that "if goods have to be rerouted via Africa due to the blockage this could add as much as 10 days to delivery times for UK businesses," and "if this does happen it will inevitably lead to shortages of goods and inflationary price rises for consumers.” And The New York Times writes that the shipping and supply industry is waiting to find out if this all will "amount to a couple of days' minor inconvenience, or something worse."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!
Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitions
Feature Kwame Onwuachi's grand second act, Travis Lett makes a comeback, and Jeff Watson's new Korean restaurant
-
Trump soaks up adoration in his made-for-TV Cabinet meetings
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's televised sessions have become a platform for his top lieutenants to demonstrate executive flattery
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year