Japanese shippers look for new routes to Europe after Suez Canal incident
Japanese shippers are seeking alternative routes between East Asia and Europe following the incident in which the 224,000-ton ship Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal in Egypt.
JOHANNESBURG, May 20 (ANA) – Japanese shippers are seeking alternative routes between East Asia and Europe following the incident in which the 224,000-ton ship Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal in Egypt, reported Deutsche Welle (DW).
“It is certainly a very sensible move for Japanese companies to at least look into alternative routes, although they must remember that each of those will also have drawbacks,” Yoshitsugu Hayashi, a professor of transportation policy and systems at Chubu University, was quoted as saying.
Hayashi told DW that there are three alternative routes available to link East Asia with Europe, while a fourth is under development.
He said the first is around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, which was the route used before the 193km Suez Canal was completed in November 1869. The second alternative is the Arctic route, north of Russia.
The third alternative is the Trans-Siberian Railway. One Japanese company, Hankyu Hanshin Express, launched its rail transport service using the Trans-Siberian Railway in January, pointing out that the route takes two weeks less than by sea and is half the price of air transportation, wrote DW.
Meanwhile, Ever Given’s owner, Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, is deeply unhappy that it has been caught up in a legal battle over the accident, according to DW.
Ever Given is still being held by the Suez Canal Authority after an Egyptian court granted its request to hold on to the ship until the owner makes payment as compensation for the accident.
The Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal on March 23, blocking the route for six days.
According to DW, the accident cost the authority millions of dollars as no other ships were able to pass.
On May 10, Marine News reported that the authority offered to reduce the claim amount from more than US$900 million to US$600 million.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
