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BBC Pidgin of Monday, 29 March 2021

Source: BBC

Ships blocked from Suez Canal dey cost $9.6bn goods per day

Di ship wey block one of di busiest global trade route im name be Ever Given Di ship wey block one of di busiest global trade route im name be Ever Given

One giant container ship wey hook for Egypt Suez Canal on Tuesday don become cause of concern for global trade as e block one of di busiest trade routes for di world.

Di stranded ship wey im name na Ever Given dey stop di movement of at least $9.6bn (£7bn) of goods each day, according to shipping data.

Dis dey work out at $400m an hour in trade along di waterway wey be important passage way between east and west.

Data from shipping expert Lloyd List put di value of di canal westbound traffic for roughly $5.1bn a day, and eastbound daily traffic at around $4.5bn.

Despite efforts to free di ship, expert's tok say e go take weeks to remove am.

Suez Canal: How di blockage take dey affect world trade

About 12% of global trade dey pass through di 193km (120-mile) canal, wey connect di Mediterranean Sea to di Red Sea and e provide di shortest sea link between Asia and Europe.

Di Ever Given ship wey Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine dey operate big, di length na like four football pitches and na one of di world biggest container vessels. Di 200,000-tonne ship dey capable of carrying 20,000 containers. Di way e take hook dey affect oda ships wey dey try pass through di Suez Canal.

Di canal wey separate Africa from di Middle East and Asia, na one of di busiest trade routes for di world.

According to Lloyd List tracking data, more than 160 vessels dey wait at either end of di canal. Dem include 41 bulk carriers and 24 crude tankers.

Join wit oil, di sea traffic na largely consumer products like clothing, furniture, manufacturing components and car parts.

BIMCO, one international shipping association, say di delays go continue to grow and e go affect supplies.

In addition to delaying thousands of containers loaded wit consumer items, di stranded ship don also tie up empty containers wey dem suppose export.

Efforts dem dey take to remove di ship

Efforts don continue to move di Ever Given, di 400m-long (1,300ft) container ship wey block di Suez Canal for Egypt since Tuesday.

Dredgers don clear sand and mud away from di bow of di vessel, and dem don use tugboats and di ship winches to try move am.

On Thursday, di owner of di giant container ship Japanese firm Shoei Kinsen, bin tok sorry for all di kasala di blockage don cause for oda vessels wey wan pass through di canal.

Dem say dem dey try all dia best wit local authorities and di vessel operators, to find solution to di problem, but warn say e go dey very hard.

Suez Canal: How stakeholders take dey respond to di situationIf di delays dey short, most companies no go mind wait one extra day. But salvage officials say di congestion fit last for days or even weeks, wey go really affect global supply chains wey don already suffer sake of Covid-19 pandemic.

Some companies go dey reason to fly replacement merchandise for higher value products, or use trains transport dem.

Two major shipping companies, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, say dem dey find other options to avoid Suez Canal.

Egypt Suez Canal Authority (SCA) say dem dey do everything for dia power to refloat di ship wit tug boats, dredgers and heavy earth-moving equipment.

Kitack Lim, secretary general of di international Maritime Organisation, say: " I dey aware of di implications of di temporary closure of di canal, and I dey ask for patience from stakeholders across di supply chain as everyone works to ensure that di ship, di crew, cargo and di environment go remain protected."