HOLY CR*P
How Suez Canal crisis could spark worldwide TOILET PAPER shortage as hundreds of shipments are delayed
PANIC buying at the start of the Covid crisis stripped shelves of toilet paper but now supplies are again in peril with the Suez Canal blocked by a container ship.
With hundreds of ships now in traffic jams outside the waterway, there have been warnings supermarket shelves could once again be empty of toilet paper.
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The canal is one of the world's major trade routes and on average 50 ships pass through every day but was blocked when the 200,000 ton Ever Given became wedged into the bank.
Almost all every day items could be effected by the blockage - including food and, of course toilet paper.
“Basically anything you see in the stores,” said Lars Jensen, an independent container shipping expert based in Denmark.
He explained that the blocked ship is another blow to the global shipping system already broken by Covid pandemic disruption.
“This takes capacity out of a system that is already starving for capacity,” he said.
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One company affected is Suzano SA, the biggest producer of wood pulp, the raw material for products including wood pulp.
The company says it is struggling to find capacity to ship its products, threatening delays,
The Covid disruption is already playing havoc with global trade, with ports clogged up, freight costs rising and deliveries slowed.
And the Suez Canal blockage is making governments sit up and take interest.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson said: “We are working with the authorities to assess the situation, we stand ready to provide any assistance that we can.
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“We have not been approached by any UK companies or organisations with concerns about implications for their shipping plans.
“However, some goods destined for the UK may be delayed in transit.”
If the canal remains blocked shipping firms will have no choice but to route their vessels around the southern tip of Africa, adding 14 days and 5,000 nautical miles to the journey.
Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis, which is trying to free the ship, said it was too early to say how long the job might take.
The ship’s bow and stern had been lifted up against either side of the canal, he explained.
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“We can’t exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation,” Berdowski told Dutch TV.
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“It is like an enormous beached whale. It’s an enormous weight on the sand.
“We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tug boats and dredging of sand.”
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