Billions of dollars of goods, from Ikea furnishings to tens of thousands of livestock, are stuck in a maritime traffic jam caused by the Suez Canal blockage.
More than 360 ships have been stranded in the Mediterranean to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and in holding zones, since the giant container ship MV Ever Given on Tuesday became wedged across the Suez.
Industry experts have estimated the total value of goods marooned at sea at up to $9.6 billion.
About 1.74 million barrels of oil a day are normally shipped through the canal, but 80 per cent of Gulf exports to Europe pass through the Sumed pipeline that crosses Egypt, said Paola Rodriguez Masiu of Rystad Energy.
MarineTraffic said about 100 ships loaded with oil or refined products were in holding areas on Sunday.
Crude prices shot up on Wednesday in response to the Suez blockage, before dropping the next day.
But Syria, which has been hit by sanctions, on Saturday announced more fuel rationing after the hold-up delayed a shipment of oil products from its ally, Iran.
About 130,000 head of livestock on 11 ships sent from Romania have also been held up.
"My greatest fear is that animals run out of food and water and they get stuck on the ships because they cannot be unloaded somewhere else for paperwork reasons," Gerit Weidinger, EU co-ordinator for NGO Animals International, told The Guardian.
Egypt has sent fodder and three teams of vets to examine the livestock stuck at sea, some bound for Jordan.
Sweden's Ikea said it had 110 containers on the stricken Ever Given and other ships in the traffic jam.
"The blockage of the Suez Canal is an additional constraint to an already challenging and volatile situation for global supply chains, brought on by the pandemic," Ikea said.
The Van Rees Group in Rotterdam said 80 containers of tea were trapped at sea on 15 ships, and there could be "chaos" for the company as supplies dried up.
Dave Hinton, owner of a timber company in north-west England, said he had a consignment of French oak stuck on a ship.
The oak had been sent for reprocessing into veneered flooring in China, and was on its way back to a customer in Britain, Mr Hinton told BBC Radio on Friday.
"I've spoken to my customer and told him the bad news that his floor was blocking the Suez Canal. He didn't believe me. He thought I was pulling his leg."
Shipping giants such as Denmark's Maersk have rerouted ships to the longer journey around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, adding at least seven days to the voyage.
Even if the Ever Given were dislodged, Maersk on Saturday estimated that it would take between three and six days for the stranded ships to pass through the canal.
The company said that 32 Maersk and partner vessels would be directly affected by the end of the weekend, with 15 rerouted, and the numbers could increase unless the canal was reopened.
Lloyd's List said up to 90 per cent of the affected cargo is not insured against delays.
Two more tugboats were on their way on Sunday to join attempts to refloat the massive container ship.
The Dutch-flagged Alp Guard and the Italian-flagged Carlo Magno are believed to have arrived near the city of Suez at the southern mouth of the Suez Canal.
The two tugs have a combined pulling power of almost 500 tonnes.
They will join a dozen other tugboats that involved in trying to refloat the ship.
There were expected to be two attempts coinciding with tides on Sunday to free the Panama-flagged, 400-metre Ever Given, the first about midday and a second in the evening.
Repeated failures to refloat the 200,000-tonne vessel are likely to force the Suez Canal Authority to resort to unload the vessel, which is carrying 18,300 containers.
That delicate operation could take days to complete and will probably involve container ships equipped with cranes.
“It is our last-resort scenario,” the authority's chief, Admiral Osama Rabie, said on Saturday.
For now, hopes are pinned on the power of the two extra tugs as dredging operations continue, sucking sand from under the vessel.
Admiral Rabie on Sunday said the latest attempt to refloat the vessel on Saturday involved the 12 tugboats, with two pulling the front of the ship and the rest pushing its stern southward.
He did not say when the new tugboats, being built in a shipyard at Port Said, the coastal city on the northern tip of the canal, would join the effort.
Also on Sunday, Admiral Rabie said the main dredger had removed 27,000 cubic metres of sand, reaching a depth of 18 metres.
Workers have removed thousands of tonnes of ballast from the Ever Given.
Admiral Rabie said 9,000 tonnes of ballast water were pumped out to lighten the vessel.
“We have to deal with difficult soil and strong tides in addition to the size of the boat, its height and the large number of containers it is carrying,” he said.
“It is very difficult to give a precise time for resolving the problem."
In the meantime, ships continue to arrive at either end of the canal, waiting to pass.
Admiral Rabie announced the closure of the waterway on Thursday.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Company%20Profile
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Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
