How did one stuck ship block the Suez Canal in 2021?

One very large container ship got stuck because strong winds pushed it sideways in a canal too narrow to go around. On 23 March 2021 the Ever Given, a container ship 400 metres long, was caught in a sandstorm with winds above 40 knots and lost the ability to steer. It ran aground and ended up wedged across the Suez Canal, with its bow and stern against opposite banks, blocking all traffic for six days, until 29 March.

The canal's layout turned a mishap into a blockage. For much of its length the Suez Canal is not wide enough for two ships to pass each other, so ships travel in convoys and take turns. A ship stuck across a single-lane stretch therefore stops everything behind it. Wind helped: stacked containers can act like a sail, pushing a heavy ship off course, and a ship that big has so much momentum that it is hard to recover.

The cost mounted by the hour. The blockage tied up goods worth an estimated US$9.6 billion a day, and by 28 March at least 369 ships were queuing. Over 300 vessels at both ends of the canal were obstructed, including 41 bulk carriers and 24 crude oil tankers. Salvage crews removed fuel and nine thousand tonnes of ballast water to lighten the ship while an excavator dug out the bow. On 29 March fourteen tugs finally freed it, and the backlog was cleared by 3 April.

Its cause is still described in more than one way. The wind and sandstorm are on the record, but Egyptian authorities also said "technical or human errors" may have been involved.