A close watch is being kept on the progress of the Suez Canal Authority in freeing the giant container ship the ‘Ever Given’ by exporters of recovered paper and metals.
As yet it is generally seen as a watching game with the hope that the ship will be freed soon before it starts to have more serious knock on consequences for secondary material exports. If all ships had to reroute via Cape Town, extra costs could be reflected in reduced prices paid for exports of paper and metals for recycling.
Sandstorm
The Suez Canal passage is blocked to vessels in both directions by the ship operated by Evergreen Marine, which is said to have been knocked off course by strong winds and a sandstorm on early Tuesday March 23.
For the recovered paper sector the interruption to trade is immediate as there are usually up to six sailings a week of vessels carrying waste paper in containers to mills in countries from India through to Malaysia and Vietnam.
An excavator attempts to free the front end of the “Ever Given”, a container ship operated by the Evergreen Marine Corporation (Photo: Suez Canal Authority/PA Photos)
The blockage comes at a time when prices for recovered paper and metals have reached high levels in recent weeks. The recovered paper market has been driven by strong demand in Europe with prices for mixed paper jumping to over £100 when a year ago there were some sales of the material at a negative value.
As yet there has been no impact on market prices for waste paper which are said in some quarters to be edging down slightly although strong demand remains on the European Continent for used cardboard and mixed paper.
Commenting on the impacts of the Suez Canal blockage, Colin Clarke, managing director of the UK business Winfibre, a major exporter of recovered paper to South East Asia, said: “It is too early to say what the impact will be on the recovered paper market at the present time. We have our fingers crossed that in the next couple of days there will be a resolution”.
Alternative
Winfibre shipping manager, Paula Hill, said that she felt most carriers would wait until early next week rather than taking rushed decisions about the rerouting of cargo ships around the alternative route via Cape Town. And, she explained that: “Carriers know the route and sometimes use it if oil bunker costs are low and they want to adjust ship timings.”
Ms Hill explained that typically from Europe there will be “five or six sailings to Asia each week using the Suez Canal that have consignments of recovered paper. Revised estimated times of arrival are now being factored in to trade.”
Traffic snarl
In a statement, Maersk – one of the major shipping lines serving South East Asia, said: “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.
‘Close to two hundred ships are caught up in the traffic snarl’
“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 statement added: “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 upmost to mitigate the delay as best as we can.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Metal
