Explained: How much did Suez Canal blockage cost world trade

The massive cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal was refloated on the Monday after six days of rigorous efforts by salvage authorities. However, the blocked Suez Canal has severely hurt global trade and powerful economies around the world. Here is how much the Suez Canal blockage cost world trade:

The 400-metre long container vessel, MV Ever Given, was finally freed six days after it completely blocked Egypt’s Suez Canal. It took rigorous efforts to refloat the massive cargo ship — more than double the size of Statue of Unity — that got diagonally stuck on the all-important 193-km narrow waterway since March 23. On Monday, the world breathed a sigh of relief when salvage authorities finally managed to free the 2.20 lakh tonne stranded ship, which had brought a major portion of the world's seaborne trade to a standstill and led to massive disruption in global supply chains. While normal traffic has now resumed of the narrow Suez Canal passage, the ship blockage since last Tuesday resulted in massive economic loss — hundreds of ships ferrying cargo worth billions were either stuck in traffic or forced to reroute, causing significant delays in essential shipments.