A huge container ship has accidentally blocked the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes

Screen_Shot_2021 03 23_at_5_48_20_PM — Ever Given, the large yellow vessel pictured, stuck in the middle of the Suez Canal and surrounded by smaller cargo ships.
Vessel Finder

Ever Given, one of the largest cargo ships in the Suez Canal, has been stuck for almost a day.
The ship has caused a massive logjam in one of the world's most important trade routes.
Pictures and maps below show the state of the bottleneck.
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One of the most important shipping routes in the world, the Suez Canal, has been blocked by a massive container ship for a day.

Ever Given, a nearly 200-foot-wide, 1,300-foot-long cargo ship sailing under a Panamanian flag, has caused a transcontinental logjam in the Egyptian waters, which directly connect Europe to Asia.

The ship is en route to Rotterdam, Netherlands, from the Yantian district of China, according to Vessel Finder.

The ship had traveled through Taipei and Malaysia and had planned on arriving in the Netherlands on March 31 before winding up perpendicular and blocking hundreds of cargo ships from both sides.

GettyImages 1183111853 — Container ships sail in Suez Canal, during the 150th anniversary of the Suez Canal.
Gehad Hamdy/picture alliance via Getty Images

The Suez Canal was initially constructed in 1869, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and it allows for the shortest possible trade route by water between Europe and Asia. In 2015, the Egyptian government finished an $8 billion renovation of the canal to attract more business and allow for smoother sailing.

An image shared by a crew member aboard a ship stuck behind Ever Given gave a glimpse of the colossal traffic jam taking place.