Ships divert around Africa as Ever Given blocks Suez Canal for fourth day

A satellite image shows the stricken container ship Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal in Egypt

Credit: CNES/AIRBUS DS via REUTERS

Data intelligence firm Kpler said that three diverted tankers have already been rerouted around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope and that others were now sailing to other destinations.

The 120-mile-long Suez Canal, which opened in 1869, allows shipping between Europe and the east to bypass the treacherous Horn of Africa and Cape of Good Hope, a journey which can be over 4,000 miles longer and take nearly twice the time. 

The Horn of Africa exposes shipping to increased risks of piracy off the coast of Somalia and the seas around the southern tip of Africa can be dangerously rough.

Cape of good hope route vs Suez canal route (Singapore to rotterdam)

Fuel is a ship’s single biggest cost, representing up to 60 per cent of operating expenses, but in the past low oil prices have occasionally made it cheaper for some vessels to take the longer route, bypassing the canal and its toll fees, which are in the vicinity of £500,000 per vessel. 

On Thursday, the owner of the Dutch company which is trying to free the ship said that re-floating the Ever Given “might take weeks, depending on the situation.”