Suez Traffic Unaffected By Container Ship Breakdown-Canal Authority

Reuters reporting that navigation in the eastern lane of Egypt's Suez Canal remains unaffected, "after a container ship collided with a bridge," according to Egypt's Al Qahera News TV. Reuters reports that according to the Suez Canal Authority, the breakdown of the One Orpheus ship has not affected traffic in the Canal. Initial social media and wire reports suggested that there had been a cessation in traffic, but it would appear that this was inaccurate.

• The collision appears to have been with the Ahmed el-Mansy pontoon bridge near the city of Ismalia, and is one of the several crossings of the canal.
• The headlines come amid heightened sensitivity in the Red Sea in recent days with multiple reports of attacks from Houthi rebels and Somali pirates on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
• Any closure of the Suez Canal would have raised concerns that a sustained blockage of the shipping lines could snag supply chains similar to a sustained closure when the Evergiven caused a weeklong closure in 2021.
• Greco reports: "Assuming this estimate for the EVER GIVEN, the cost is 18 to 69 million USD per day, which would be 126 to 483 million USD for seven days. The 6.5-day blockade of the Suez Canal caused damages to the entire global economy of 2 to 2.5 billion EUR."