The cost of sea freight has risen sharply due to the congestion in the Suez Canal, where the container ship Ever Given ran aground and completely blocked the transport artery.
According to Bloomberg, due to the accident, the delivery of goods and oil products worth more than $ 10 billion is delayed, the current situation has led to an increase in the cost of transportation.
In particular, it is noted that the cost of delivery of a dry cargo container from China to Europe has reached $ 8 thousand, which is four times more expensive than a year ago.
It is noted that if the blockage of the Suez Canal drags on for several weeks, and the ships go along an alternative route around the Cape of Good Hope, then the cost of cargo transportation may increase by at least $ 300 thousand. 9.65 thousand kilometers.
On 23 March, the Panama-flagged container ship Ever Given ran aground in the south of the Suez Canal, blocking more than 150 ships from traffic.
On March 25, the Suez Canal administration announced that navigation would resume only after the vessel was raised.
Experts believe that prolonged blocking of the channel will lead to disruption of trade chains, as well as to an increase in oil prices by 10% or more.
On Thursday, the Department of the Situation and Crisis Center of the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that it may take several weeks to unblock the Suez Canal from a grounded container ship.