Suez incident brings seafarers into focus

THERE was a collective sigh of relief throughout the shipping and trading communities when the container ship Ever Given, stuck fast across the Suez Canal since Tuesday last week, was finally pulled clear on Monday.

This was one of those rare occasions when the shipping industry was noticed at all outside maritime circles. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a huge crisis in shipping. Seafarers for months were unable to get home.

In the very early days, the chaos in the cruise industry hit the headlines, primarily because of Covid-19 outbreaks on board.