The Biden administration has offered U.S. assistance to Egyptian officials as they attempt to free a massive container ship stuck in the Suez Canal amid fears in Washington about an uptick in energy prices.
The Ever Given remains wedged partially sideways inside the canal, which is one of the world’s most important waterways for the flow of goods. The ship has space for 20,000 metal containers, which tower over the Suez’s banks while workers and equipment appear in miniature around its hull.
The vessel ran aground this week, putting the global economy already slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic at further risk. Traffic is blocked in both directions along the Suez, costing the global economy billions of dollars each day.
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The blockage is costing $400 million an hour in trade, according to Lloyd’s, which tracks global shipping, and that swells to $5.1 billion a day for the canal’s westbound traffic and $4.5 billion for goods going east.
The Biden administration has offered help, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday. The concern in Washington is the backup will have “some effect” on global energy prices.
Despite the blockade, crude oil has fluctuated around $60 per barrel this week, currently at $61, though that is up from $58.56 on Thursday.
Psaki did not say whether Egyptian officials have accepted that offer, nor what the U.S. government might send to the region to help free the Ever Given.
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The Suez separates Africa from Asia, with 12% of global trade moving through it annually. Energy goods such as crude oil compose up to 10% of all global trade.
