Sometimes world trade grinds to a halt. As a result of the corona pandemic, for example. To a smaller extent, the grounding of Ever Given that blocked the Suez Canal for six days in 2021. On an even smaller scale, what is happening off the coast of this tiny island where I'm on vacation this week.
Usually, here on Wangerooge, not that much happens. You can rest easy and watch large parts of global trade (80 to 90 per cent of all global trade is sent by ship) passing by the whole day long. The German island is located on the shipping route from Rotterdam (the largest seaport in Europe) to Bremerhaven (fourth-largest in Europe).
Today is different. Today there is just one ship to see on the horizon, and it doesn't move; it is the Mumbai Maersk. When it was built in 2018 it was the world's largest container ship (length: 399 meters, width 58 meters; see here how big). It ran aground off Wangerooge last night.
The container ship sailing under the flag of Denmark came from Asia, had its last stop in the port of Rotterdam and was on its way to Bremerhaven.
The shipping company said: "All crew are safe, there is no pollution and no sign of hull breach." – Let's hope it is true. Let's hope it will stay true.
An initial attempt to refloat the vessel in the early hours today were unsuccessful. A new attempt to refloat is expected tonight.