A Greater Manchester business expert has warned that the current blockage of the Suez Canal will lead to a period of "high congestion" at 海角视频 ports.
Jonathan Owens, a logistics expert from the University of Salford Business School, said the Ever Given container ship blocking one of the world's main supply routes "could not have come at a worse time".
It's been revealed this week that the ship, stuck in the canal near Suez, Egypt, could be broken up if it cannot be moved - and workers may need to dig 16m around the quarter-mile long vessel.
Mr Owens said: “This situation has piled on more problems for beleaguered shipping companies, who were already facing disruption and delays in supplying products to customers due the unbalanced supply chains, in the wake of the global pandemic.
“This could not have come at a worse time for one of the world’s busiest manmade waterways, providing essential supply route for oil, natural gas, and general shipping container cargo between the Atlantic and Pacific.
"Around 12% of goods globally, about £2.2bn in trade, passes through the canal every day.
“The unbalanced supply chain and need for shipping containers to be restored would mean that if the blockage is not going to be cleared in the very near future shipping companies are going to have to re-route their cargo much further south, causing delays of up to approximately 7-10 days, which in turn puts extra strain on a stretched supply chain. "
There are currently thought to be around 10m barrels of oil and petrol queuing to enter the canal.
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Mr Owens added: "Already there has been small rises for prices of oil on the market, so the longer this goes on we could see short term rises at the fuel pumps and this could knock on into product rise for on-line to compensate for the rising cost of on-line deliveries if the retailers are not willing to take the hit.
"The delays could be even longer and costly if the decision is made to break up the ship if no progress is made to unblock the canal.
“If the canal becomes unblocked, many ships that are going towards Europe will move the bottleneck there, because there will be a mass movement of ships all trying to get out of the canal and go in the same direction.
"Therefore, for a period we will see a state of high congestion at our ports.
"Which are particularly slower due to the extra Covid procedures in places with the shipping containers. There will be no clear-cut product that will be impact rather a series of products, from toys and furniture to electrical items, and the canal is a choker and a main shipping supply route. Whatever the result will cause repercussion for a while in our supply chains.”
The 海角视频 government said British experts are ready to assist if required, while Dutch maritime recovery firm Smit Salvage attempts to dislodge the Ever Given ship which ran aground in the south of the canal on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We are working with the authorities to assess the situation, we stand ready to provide any assistance that we can.
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"We have not been approached by any 海角视频 companies or organisations with concerns about implications for their shipping plans.
"However, some goods destined for the 海角视频 may be delayed in transit."
Admiral Osama Rabie, chairman and managing director of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), confirmed on Thursday that navigation through the Suez Canal had been suspended.
Eight large tugboats, the largest of which can tow 160 tonnes, are being used to move the mammoth vessel, the SCA said.
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Director of policy at the 海角视频 Chamber of Shipping, Peter Aylott, said the timeline for removal of the ship will depend on tide and weather conditions in the coming days.
Mr Aylott, who used to sail ships down the Suez Canal and knows the area well, said: "The complication is that the tides are obviously different each day, and we're working towards a high tide at the end of the weekend which would be the best time to try to refloat it.
"But the prevailing wind has caused issues with the vessel being stuck to the bank - it's difficult for the tugs to pull it away.
"It could take some time, or it could be that by Sunday we see the vessel refloated."
He said the ship is "one of the largest" to travel on the canal, carries "around 20,000 containers", weighs around 220,000 gross tonnes and is around 400 metres long.
"You're looking at something like the Empire State Building in terms of length," he said.
"The impact on energy sources such as gas and oil will be an impact on prices, but I doubt it will be an impact on supply because it's not quite such a just-in-time cargo," he added.
"I think the major issue will be unintended consequences at what's in the containers, and that will really depend on what's on board the vessels."
Mr Aylott added that groundings in the canal are "quite rare" and the cause is a "matter for an inquiry", but strong winds on Tuesday may have been a factor.