Memes mocking Suez Canal blockage spurred rescue teams to work even harder - mariner on the job Apr 01, 2021, 12:53 PM
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Suez Canal Authority
Memes about the Suez Canal came thick and fast while the Ever Given was grounded.
Workers in Suez saw them, and were spurred to work harder, one told The Washington Post.
With the world looking on, clearing the canal was a point of Egyptian national pride.
When the Ever Given, an ultra-large container ship, got stuck in one of the world s most important waterways, the world reacted with fascination - and memes.
Those memes travelled the world, and got back to Suez, where they were seen by the mariners who worked night and day to free the ship since it was grounded on March 23.
Egyptians got in on the game with dozens of jokes, sharing memes such as this one: On the left: That one cup of tea. On the right: Things I need to do. Twitter
On the ground, workers had a very different experience, according to The Post. The Japanese-owned ship is managed by a Taiwanese company, flies under a Panamanian flag, and has an Indian crew.
But as the Suez Canal is an essential part of the Egyptian economy, Egyptian canal workers felt the pressure.
By the third day of the blockage, Lloyd s List, a shipping-news organization based in London, had estimated that the cost to global trade was $400 million per hour.