Although the queue of ships in the Suez Canal has been resolved, the effects are far from over. They are spreading to other parts of the network, Maersk informs customers. The investigation of Ever Given is well underway. It will be another few days before the accumulation of Maersk ships on the Suez Canal is completely resolved, but that does not mean that the problems are over.
Even though Maersk expects the situation to return to normal by Wednesday, the effects are now beginning to spread.
In an update to customers, Maersk points out that other parts of the network may be affected by the blockage of the canal, which lasted six days, because the schedule has to be changed for some ships.
"We want to advise our customers that shipments not directly impacted by the Suez blockage might also be affected as we adjust our network to avoid port congestions and to limit the overall net loss of ocean network capacity due to omitted ports as a result of redirecting 12 vessels," states the update from Maersk.
DSV: There will be queues in ports
The incident in the Suez Canal, where container ship Ever Given blocked one of the most important routes for global ocean transport for nearly a week, has already had repercussions for global supply chains.
"We're in a rush to update our customers and handle the many inquiries we have received in the past few days. Now the build-up is gradually being remedied in the Suez, but this will lead to build-up at the ports and an additional lack of capacity," said Flemming Ole Nielsen, Executive Vice President and Head of Investor Relations at logistics company DSV, to ShippingWatch before Easter.
Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company and a strategically important partner for DSV, reported Tuesday that the Suez blockage and the build-up of vessels in its wake will lead to a loss of capacity between 20 and 30 percent in the coming weeks.
In addition, Maersk has suspended spot bookings and short-term contracts, and it will remain that way for some time to come. In the customer update, Maersk states that it may be able to assess when the suspension can be lifted at the beginning of this week.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities are conducting investigations to clarify what went wrong when the large ship grounded and got stuck on Tuesday morning two weeks ago.
According to Egypt Today, initial results from the investigation could be presented as early as this week. For now, the Suez Canal estimates that it has cost around USD 1 billion to refloat the Taiwanese ship. Authorities point out that it is the operator of the ship and not the owner who is responsible.
BY TOMAS KRISTIANSEN