Monday, March 29, 2021

Iran Envoy: Suez Canal Blockage Highlighting North-South Corridor as Sub



2021-March-29 13:43

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Ambassador to Moscow Kazzem Jalali said that the blocking of the Suez Canal by a huge container ship has necessitated once more the accomplishment of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), adding that the incident has caused over 9 billion dollars of daily loss for the global economy.

According to the Twitter account of Iran’s mission in Moscow, Jalali reiterated the necessity of completing the INSTC as an alternative as the Japanese large cargo ship has blocked the Suez Canal resulting in over $9 billion loss for the world economy.

He added that the INSTC cuts the transport time by 20 days and reduces costs by 30 percent compared to traditional route currently used.

The diplomat stressed that the event represented the necessity of low-risk alternative to the traditional route.

INSTC is an international multi-mode of ship, railway and road route which connects Russia and Eastern Europe to India and China through Iran.

Iran is expected to complete 170 kilometers of the railroad between the cities of Rasht and Astara to create a connection with Russia and Finland in Europe.

The Suez Canal – an important global shipping route accounting for about 15% of world shipping traffic – has been blocked since Tuesday.


A giant container ship remained stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal for a fifth day Saturday, as authorities prepared to make new attempts to free the vessel and reopen a crucial East-West waterway for global shipping.


The Ever Given, a Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground Tuesday in the narrow canal that runs between Africa and the Sinai Peninsula, Euronews reported.

The massive vessel got stuck in a single-lane stretch of the canal, about six kilometres North of the Southern entrance, near the city of Suez.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, the technical manager of the Ever Given, said an attempt Friday to free it failed. Plans were in the works to pump water from interior spaces of the vessel, and two more tugs should arrive by Sunday to join others already trying to move the massive ship, it added.

An official at the Suez Canal Authority stated they planned to make at least two attempts Saturday to free the vessel when the high tide goes down. He noted the timing depends on the tide.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief journalists.

Egyptian authorities have prohibited media access to the site. The canal authority announced its head, Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei, would hold a news conference in the city of Suez, a few kilometres from the site of the vessel.

Shoei Kisen President Yukito Higaki told a news conference at company headquarters in Imabari in Western Japan that 10 tugboats were deployed and workers were dredging the banks and seafloor near the vessel’s bow to try to get it afloat again as the high tide starts to go out.

Shoei Kisen stated in a statement Saturday the company was considering removing containers to lighten the vessel if refloating efforts fail, but that would be a difficult operation.

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