Cargo ship drew giant penis in Red Sea before wedging itself in Suez Canal
Joe Roberts
METRO
The enormous cargo ship currently blocking 10% of the world’s trade in the Suez Canal had just drawn a giant penis in the Red Sea.
Traffic on the crucial waterway linking the Mediterranean and Red Sea has been at a standstill for two days after the MV Ever Given ran aground in high winds.
A team of tugboats are attempting to dislodge its bow from the canal’s eastern wall but it’s feared it could be stuck for several days.
It now appears the Ever Given’s ill-fated journey through Egypt was preceded by a very racy passage across the Red Sea.
Tracking data from vesselfinder.com shows the 400-metre-long vessel charted a course that looks suspiciously like a massive phallus.
A spokesperson for the maritime tracking site said the ship’s data was accurate, adding: ‘There is no room for some kind of conspiracies or false data.’
It’s believed high winds caused the cargo ship to suddenly turn sideways some 3.7 miles north of the canal’s southern mouth, near the city of Suez, where the canal becomes a narrow single lane.
The ship’s management firm said ‘all crew are safe and accounted for’, adding there have been ‘no reports of injuries or pollution’.
It could have a major knock-on effect for global shipping, according to Salvatore R Mercogliano, a former merchant mariner and associate professor.
He said: ‘Every day, 50 vessels on average go through that canal, so the closing of the canal means no vessels are transiting north and south.
‘Every day the canal is closed … container ships and tankers are not delivering food, fuel and manufactured goods to Europe and goods are not being exported from Europe to the Far East.’
Mini-heatwave on its way just in time for barbecues and meeting up in gardens
Built in 2018 with a length of nearly 400 metres (1,312ft) and a width of 59 metres (193ft), it is one of the largest cargo ships in the world.
Opened in 1869, the Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo being shipping from East to West.
Around 10% of the world’s trade flows through the waterway and it remains one of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners.