Ever Given or the crisis of the giants

A crisis of this magnitude is unprecedented in the Suez Canal. The eyes of the world were riveted on the ship that ran aground on 23 March and whose immobility shook international trade already affected by a global recession and marked by rising freight rates. The story of the container ship Ever Given is an allegory for our age of excess, where the need to go faster and further is paramount, no matter what the cost. In the last twenty years, the average size of ships has tripled. Economies of scale without concern for the risks associated with size are the order of the day.

Apart from the weather and the storm that blew through the canal and kicked up its sand, there has been talk of human error. Yes, one almost forgets that machines - impressive as they are - are operated by human beings and that what is imposed on them is beyond their capabilities.

The world's largest traffic jam caused the blockage of 422 ships loaded with goods, oil or livestock. 

The Ever Given is 400 metres long and weighs 220,000 tonnes, but it is not the only one. Other ships of this size are already crossing the narrow channel again. 

That said, the Ever Given already caused some problems for shipping personnel in 2019, when it collided with a ferry near Hamburg and badly damaged it, but at the time there were no warning signs and the Panamanian-flagged container ship continued to sail, carrying cargo and performing its duties. 

Ever Given's blockade, which lasted only a few days, caused oil prices to soar by 5 per cent and one day cost a whopping $6-10 billion in losses, according to experts. 

Everyone says that, given the current shortage of equipment and cargo, Ever Given's grounding could not have come at a worse time. But perhaps it is a good time to reflect on our economy and the current model that has shown its limits time and again, of which the global pandemic is a manifestation. 

If Ever Given has slowed global trade - as a reminder, 10% of international maritime traffic passes through the Suez Canal - cargo between Asia and Europe could pass through the Cape of Good Hope, a route that can lengthen delivery times by up to 15 days. 

Russia has used this crisis to remind those who may have forgotten that the northern sea route is a safe option. Cargo volumes on this route were estimated at 32.97 million tonnes in 2020. The Russians expect to reach 80 million tonnes by 2024. 

Seventy per cent of the cargo passing through the Suez Canal is Chinese, products we all depend on, mainly for mobile phones and cars. 

This shows the importance of this route for the Middle Kingdom. This is why Beijing has been working intensively for several years on the construction of the new Silk Road, which should link Asia with Europe. 

Last year, the volume of goods transported along this new route increased considerably. China depends on rail freight transport and its network is the most developed in the world. 

It is therefore in the interest of the Suez Canal to maintain its attractiveness. The revenue it generates is Egypt's second largest source of income after tourism. The latter has been at half-mast for the past year, so there is no question of sacrificing the $500,000 per passage, which is equivalent to $5.5 billion a year for the Egyptian exchequer. President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, who is facing a severe economic crisis, has gone to great lengths to get Cargo Taiwan back on track. The rocky subsoil had to be excavated and dozens of tugboats were made available. Al-Sissi, during a visit to Ismailia, said his country "will provide adequate equipment to prevent a repeat of the incident that blocked the Suez Canal". The Ever Given has flowed again, the "incident" is almost forgotten. Egypt promises to do more to allow even bigger ships through.  Yes, soon everything will be so big that we will forget that it is the small rivers that make the rivers. Soon everything will be so big, too big for us.