A Stuck Ship

Anyone who’s floated a paper boat probably knows that boats sometimes get stuck! And while a paper boat just needs a bit of a wiggle to be freed, one of the largest ships on the planet might need more than that. It’s not unheard of for a ship to get stuck, but what happened to Ever Given, a cargo ship that got lodged in the Suez Canal due to a storm, was rather unusual. The ship blocked the passageway for hundreds of other ships delivering cargo across the world. Salvage boats tugged the ship out of the way after a six-day blockage, one that resulted in thousands of carriers delaying their deliveries. And if you think that’s a small price to pay, think again. The blockage meant it cost companies around the world about $400 million per hour of delay. You see, around $9.7 billion dollars worth of goods pass through the canal connecting Europe to Asia every single day. Thankfully, the ship was finally dislodged under the watchful gaze of millions of people around the world who were tracking the story!

Pirate Ships?

If you thought pirate ships were home to loud pirates with eye patches and swords, news flash! Times have changed. Today, pirate ships are fast boats that attack lonely ships out on the ocean and take both the people and the goods hostage. Last year, more than 135 ships were seized by pirates, and mostly in the Gulf of Guinea near West Africa. The country of Denmark is now fighting back. How, exactly? Since it’s not the 1800s with old-time pirate ships, they’ll send a helicopter to patrol the waters and escort ships, and even perform rescue operations after attacks.

Cruise Ships

If people can fly on airplanes during COVID times, can they take cruise ships too? Not if you’re in America. The option to take a fun cruise from the United States to other countries has paused for more than a year now, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued strict rules on when cruise ships can operate normally again. Many cruise ships are still docked on land, waiting to get back on the water with vacationers. Why are cruise ships different? For one, they travel for many days at sea, unlike airplanes, which take no more than twenty-four hours to reach their destinations. Plus, air travel could be for emergency reasons, while cruise ships are purely for vacation purposes. As people spend more time in close quarters mingling on cruise ships, there are more chances of spreading the virus. But now, companies like Carnival Cruise are threatening to pull out of the United States’ ports if they aren’t allowed to start operating soon.