When the Ever Given cargo ship got stuck in the Suez Canal in March, it felt like an apt metaphor for the state of the world. But how it got stuck in the first place—and the international conflict that followed—involved much more than just a stranded ship.
including fruits and vegetables, Lenovo computers, Ikea furniture, Nike footwear, and oneThe beating heart is profit. Whoever can do a better job for a better price wins.
Instead, ships transiting canals rely on local experts called pilots, specialized professionals trained and certified to understand the waterway. Many have spent decades getting to know the waterway’s unique hydrology. After coming aboard, they stand on the bridge and give commands to a sailor called the helmsman, who operates the ship’s controls.
Another source of friction is the culture of petty bribery. Requests for cartons of cigarettes are so routine that the “Marlboro Canal” has become a nickname for the Suez. “The pilot would get on board the ship, and the first thing he would do is ask for a couple of cartons of cigarettes,” says Steve Cole, another American ship captain. And then the electricians, “they’re going to want a carton of cigarettes.
The wind was pushing from the south, nudging the ship so far to the left side of the curving channel that its hull grazed the canal’s sloping bottom. Following the pilot’s instructions, the helmsman turned the rudder so that the ship’s nose swung away from the bank, bringing it into the center of the channel. But it didn’t stay there.
On a summer morning Port Revel’s director, François Mayor, took me out in a miniature tanker to demonstrate the difficulties of canal navigation. A light breeze ruffled the leaves of the birch trees along a grass-lined ditch that stood in for the Suez Canal. Although Port Revel’s ships are small, they are faithful to proportion, and the force of the morning breeze on the model’s hull was about what“A very big ship is like a sailboat,” Mayor declared.
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