The efforts to dislodge the 200,000-ton ship blocking the Suez Canal will take until at least next Wednesday to succeed, according to Bloomberg. The task raises the prospect of further disruptions of global supply chains.
The extended disruption is projected to stretch the container shipping industry, already operating at full capacity.
The disruptions threaten further delays for European companies that rely on a steady flow of Asian imports and consumers, whose online purchases have risen during the pandemic.
Analysts project the delays are likely to increase costs, adding widespread inflationary pressure on the supply chain.
Work to rescue the 400-meter long vessel that started on Tuesday has been largely unsuccessful, and the queue of waiting vessels has risen to more than 300 from 186 on Wednesday.
Should cargo need to be unloaded from the stranded vessel or extensive repays made to the canal itself, downtime could last at least two weeks.
Vessels currently outside of the Red Sea planning to reroute around Africa will add 10 to 15 days to their voyages.
The Suez Canal blockage is currently holding up about 2 million barrels a day of oil flows.
