Have you ever got caught in a traffic jam on the road? How about a traffic jam in one of the world's busiest canals(运河)?
According to the managers of the ship named Ever Given, the accident happened because of strong winds during a sandstorm. Ever Given is a huge 220.000-on ship- 400 meters long and 59 meters wide. The ship got caught in the canal's most narrow area, which is about 205 to 225 meters wide.
By the end of last month, Ever Given had been caught in the Suez Canal for six days. It kept at least 422 ships waiting and cost 400 million dollars per hour, making it the world's most expensive traffic jam ever. The accident made more people understand how important the Suez Canal is.
Connecting the Mediterranean Sea(地中海) with the Red Sea, the Suez Canal is a main waterway for world trade. It allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without going around Africa, which makes the sea journey about 7,000 kilometers shorter.
Now, around 10% of the world trade passes through the canal. About 1.9 million barrels (桶) of oil go through the canal every day--that's about 7% of the world's oil. Things like machines and car parts are carried by the ships. Daily goods like furniture, clothing, toilet paper and coffee go through it as well. You can imagine what may happen if the canal stops working for a long time.
That's why the accident shocked the world. Experts from different countries flied to the Suez Canal to solve the problem. A large number of big boats were sent to pull and push the ship Ever Given, but it was no use. After six days of hard work, the ship was at last freed by moving away the sand under it. "The rising tide(潮水) really helped a lot." an official said.
Mohab Mamish, Egypt's President adviser for the Suez Canal projects said "The canal is now completely open for traffic, as the ship has moved." adding that they will increase the number of the working hours to move the other ships quickly.
