The Suez Canal passage continues to be blocked in both directions as a container ship operated by Evergreen Marine ran aground and became lodged sideways across the waterway due to strong winds and sandstorms early Tuesday March 23.
Whilst efforts to dislodge the Evergreen vessel from the Suez Canal continue, over two hundred ships are caught up in the traffic snarl in both directions.
For every day that passes, more vessels will reach the blockage. To give you as much visibility into the situation as possible, please see the planned schedule Maersk and partner vessels for the next two weeks here.
53 Vessels at or en route to Suez
14 Redirected vessels
If you want to track a vessel in real time and gain access to AI-powered predictive analysis and estimated times of arrival (ETA), you can login to the Hub and use the interactive map functionality.
While ETAs are jeopardized as salvage efforts continue, it is too early to indicate the delay, as we are doing our utmost to mitigate this. Where we can, we are already diverting vessels that have the capacity and enough fuel for a route change. Please reference the table above. Therefore, please note that the vessel list might change as we continue to divert vessels where possible. For every day the canal remains blocked, the tailwind of global impact on capacity and equipment continues to increase.
As a customer of Maersk, your cargo might also be on another vessel from a different operator than the above. All Maersk customers, whose cargo is directly impacted by the current situation, will receive specific information regarding detailed schedule changes and alternative options provided once we have the full overview.
While out of our control, we apologize for the inconvenience this incident may cause to your business and for critical shipments we recommend that you reach out to your local sales representative for dialogues and quotations on alternative solutions, such as air and rail for urgent cargo that is still at origin or elsewhere.
Please don’t hesitate to contact your local Maersk representative should you have any further questions.
March 25, 2021 – Update 3
As you may already be aware, the Suez Canal passage is currently blocked to vessels in both directions. A container ship operated by Evergreen Marine was knocked off course by strong winds and a sandstorm early Tuesday March 23.
Whilst efforts to dislodge the Evergreen vessel from the Suez Canal continue, close to two hundred ships are caught up in the traffic snarl in both directions of this global trade artery, which carries about 12% of global trade. So far, nine Maersk container vessels and two partner vessels have been directly affected. Efforts are being made to move all north bound vessels out of the canal to facilitate a clear passage and continuous convoys when the Evergreen vessel has successfully been released. The Suez Canal Authority will also send 13 smaller vessels to Great Bitter Lake (Ismailia) to minimize number of vessels waiting at Port Said/Suez for anchorage.
While ETAs are jeopardized as salvage efforts continue, the impact on the global supply chain as a result of the vessel blockage in the Suez Canal depends on how long the route remains impassable. We are closely following the refloating operations and will do our utmost to mitigate the delay as best as we can. Your supply chain is of the utmost concern to us and we will continue to keep you informed of all developments.
As a customer of Maersk, your cargo might also be on another vessel from a different operator than the above. All Maersk customers, whose cargo is directly impacted by the current situation, will receive specific information regarding detailed schedule changes and alternative options provided once we have the full overview.
While out of our control, we apologize for the inconvenience this incident may cause to your business and for critical shipments we recommend that you reach out to your local sales representative for dialogues and quotations on alternative solutions, such as air and rail for urgent cargo that is still at origin or elsewhere.
Please don’t hesitate contacting your local Maersk representative should you have any further questions.
March 24, 2021 – Update 2
As you may already be aware, the Suez Canal passage is currently blocked to vessels in both directions. A container ship operated by Evergreen Marine was knocked off course by strong winds and a sandstorm early Tuesday March 23.
Unfortunately, the operations attempt of refloating the vessel during the night has failed. 2 dredgers will continue to dredge throughout the night. At this time (0015 AM local time in Suez, Egypt), towage service has been suspended for the remainder of the night and will resume approximately 0800-0900 local time.
The incident continues to create long tailbacks on the waterway, stopping vessels from passing and causing delays.
A.P. Moller – Maersk is constantly monitoring the current situation and closely following the efforts of the impacted vessel to further update the accessibility to both south and north bound services.
So far, seven Maersk container vessels have been affected; four of which currently within the canal system while the rest are waiting to enter the passage.
All customers, whose cargoes are impacted by the current situation, will receive specific information regarding detailed schedule changes and alternative options provided. While out of our control, we apologize for the inconvenience this incident may cause to your business. We will do our utmost to mitigate the delay as best as we can. Your supply chain is of the utmost concern to us and we will continue to keep you informed of all developments.
Should you have any further questions, please contact your local Maersk representative.
March 24, 2021 – Update 1
We would like to inform you of the current situation in the Suez Canal where dozens of vessels are stuck after an EverGreen Marine container ship became wedged across, blocking the canal in both directions.
The incident has already created long tailbacks on the waterway, stopping vessels from passing and causing delays.
Rescue boats are working to free the 400m-long (1312ft) vessel, which was knocked off course by strong winds. Svitzer, Maersk provider of towage and safety services, is taking part in the ongoing re-float operations as requested by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).
A.P. Moller – Maersk is constantly monitoring the current situation and closely following the refloating efforts of the impacted vessel to further update the accessibility to both south and north bounds.
So far, seven of Maersk container vessels have been affected; four of them are stuck in the canal system while the rest are waiting to enter the passage:
All customers whose cargo is impacted by the current situation will receive specific information regarding detailed schedule changes and alternative options provided. While out of our control, we apologize for the inconvenience this incident may cause to your business, and we will do our utmost to mitigate the delay as best as we can. Your supply chain is of the utmost concern to us and we will continue to keep you informed of all developments.
