Africa-bound: Ships set for costly detour amid Suez blockage

Shippers are concerned that a vessel blocking the Suez Canal could take weeks to dislodge.

Ships are beginning costly and time-consuming detours around Africa with the Suez Canal still blocked by a massive container vessel, as concerns mount that a complex rescue mission could take weeks. The prospect of a longer-than-anticipated outage along what’s arguably the world’s most important maritime trade route threatens further turmoil in a shipping sector that’s already scrambling to keep sea transportation for everything from finished goods to energy and commodities on track. Work since Tuesday to re-float the stricken Ever Given has so far been unsuccessful, with tugs and diggers failing to budge the giant, 400-meter long vessel and clear the route for stranded oceangoing carriers hauling billions of dollars worth of oil and consumer goods.