Suez blockage is holding up $9.6 billion of goods a day

Stranded  mega-container ship in the Suez Canal is holding up an estimated $9.6 billion of goods each day, according to shipping data.

This works out at $400 million an hour in trade along the waterway which is a vital passageway between east and west, reports the BBC.

Data from shipping expert Lloyd's List values the canal's westbound traffic at roughly $5.1 billion a day, and eastbound daily traffic at around $4.5 billion.

Despite efforts to free the ship, it could take weeks to remove experts say.

The Ever Given, operated by the Taiwanese company Evergreen Marine, is the length of four football pitches and one of the world's biggest container vessels. The 200,000-tonne ship is capable of carrying 20,000 containers.

Its blockage is causing huge tailbacks of other ships trying to pass through the Suez Canal.

"What are we thinking? Have vessels gotten too large? Containers being jettisoned overboard, delayed transits due to terminal congestion and let us not forget the long line of vessels at many ports waiting for a berth," said Jon Monroe, who runs his own ocean transportation consultancy.

The canal, which separates Africa from the Middle East and Asia, is one of the busiest trade routes in the world, with about 12% of total global trade moving through it.

Along with oil, the sea traffic is largely consumer products such as clothing, furniture, manufacturing components and car parts.

According to Lloyd's List tracking data there are more than 160 vessels waiting at either end of the canal. These include 41 bulk carriers and 24 crude tankers.

BIMCO, an international shipping association, says the delays will only continue to grow and affect supplies.

"For each day of delay my thought is it will take two days to undo the delays," said Alan Baer, president of logistics provider OL USA.

In addition to delaying thousands of containers loaded with consumer items, the stranded ship has also tied up empty containers which are needed for exports.