Delay in Suez Canal Normalization... White House Expresses "Energy Market Concerns"

Stranded Ship Operation Faces Difficulties
White House Spokesperson: "US Steps Up Support for Egypt"
International Oil Prices Surge 5%

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Efforts to refloat the container ship stranded in the Suez Canal in Egypt have made little progress. The White House has also announced support for Egypt, expressing concern about the negative impact of the incident on the energy market.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said at a regular briefing on the 26th (local time), "We are closely monitoring the situation in the Suez Canal." She expressed concern about the impact of the canal blockage on the energy market and explained, "The U.S. is providing cooperation to Egyptian authorities to reopen the canal."

She did not specify the support provided by the U.S. but said detailed information would be available soon.

Psaki explained, "Since the Suez Canal is a route for oil transportation, this incident could potentially affect the energy market. This is why the U.S. has stepped in to provide support."

International oil prices have been highly volatile as attention focuses on the Suez Canal situation. Due to concerns that the normalization of the canal could be prolonged, the May West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price closed at $60.97 per barrel, up $2.41 (4.1%) on the day.

Another Failure in Refloating the Stranded Ship

Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), which is directing the salvage operation to refloat the Panama-flagged container ship Ever Given stranded in the Suez Canal, announced that work continued until the afternoon but they were unsuccessful in refloating the vessel.

BSM stated, "The focus of the operation will now shift to dredging sand and mud from the starboard bow area of the ship." The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) reported that as of today, a total of 17,000 cubic meters of sand and mud have been dredged, completing 87% of the total dredging work.

Dredging has progressed to a depth of 15 meters, and the SCA plans to deploy tugboats to check if the ship can be moved as soon as the dredging reaches the initial target volume.

Some doubt whether a massive ship measuring 400 meters in length, 59 meters in width, and with a gross tonnage of 224,000 tons, carrying 20,000 containers, can be refloated solely through dredging and towing. This is why concerns have been raised that it could take several weeks to normalize international maritime logistics.