Suez Canal Traffic Snarl Is Making Shipping Costs Skyrocket

(Bloomberg) -- How much is the epic traffic jam in the Suez Canal costing the world? The short answer: a lot.

It’s going to be tough to come up with a single figure that covers everything, and much will depend on how long the massive cargo ship remains stuck in the waterway. But here’s what’s already skyrocketed in price since the Ever Given ran aground Tuesday, blocking $10 billion of oil and goods that sail through the passage on a typical day.

With the canal potentially out of commission for weeks, shippers are now weighing the cost of rerouting their vessels around Africa. It’s not an easy decision. Sailing around the Cape of Good Hope adds 6,000 miles (9,650 kilometers) to the journey, and fuel costs alone would be about $300,000 for a supertanker delivering Middle East oil to Europe.

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