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The Ever Given and the last time the Suez was blocked

Published: 23 Mar. 2026, 00:01

Roh Jeong-tae

Roh Jeong-tae
The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

At 7:40 a.m. on March 23, 2021, a sandstorm swept through Egypt's Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The ultralarge container ship Ever Given was hit by strong winds of 74 kilometers per hour (46 miles per hour). The vessel tilted, making it impossible to steer, and rotated clockwise as it veered off course. Eventually, the Ever Given ran aground about 6 kilometers from the southern entrance, completely blocking the Suez Canal.

This marked the beginning of the Suez Canal blockage crisis.

A cargo ship travels on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Province, Egypt on Jan. 13, 2024. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

The surface width of the Suez Canal is only about 200 to 280 meters (656 to 918.6 feet). Twelve to 15 percent of global maritime trade and 30 percent of global container traffic pass through this narrow waterway. By contrast, the Ever Given was an ultralarge container ship measuring 59 meters in width and 400 meters in height and weighing 220,000 tons. A standard container measuring 20 feet is defined as one TEU, and the Ever Given was a 20,000 TEU vessel. Additionally, the densely stacked containers on board simultaneously left no room for the wind to pass through and shifted the ship's center of gravity. This situation made the Ever Given inevitably vulnerable to crosswinds.

A single ship's navigation problems were enough to paralyze global trade. The Suez Canal, built in the 19th century, has struggled to handle the scale of 21st-century logistics. Salvage efforts continued, but the situation was not easily resolved. The Ever Given was only able to refloat after a full moon brought higher tides six days after the accident.

The Suez Canal blockage exposed the vulnerabilities of international trade and the global economic system. If key maritime routes are disrupted, logistics halt, and industries inevitably falter. The Strait of Hormuz, through which oil and natural gas from Gulf countries are transported, is no exception.

As the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked due to the Iran war, international oil prices have skyrocketed, and the global economy has been gripped by anxiety. All hope that the day will soon return when ships carrying prosperity can once again move busily across peaceful seas.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.