Kapitalizam 101

'It Was Like a Zoo:' Death on an Unruly, Overcrowded Everest

NEW DELHI — Ed Dohring, a doctor from Arizona, had dreamed his whole life of reaching the top of Mount Everest. But when he summited a few days ago, he was shocked by what he saw.

Climbers were pushing and shoving to take selfies. The flat part of the summit, which he estimated at about the size of two Ping-Pong tables, was packed with 15 or 20 people. To get up there, he had to wait hours in a line, chest to chest, one puffy jacket after the next, on an icy, rocky ridge with a several-thousand foot drop. He even had to step around the frozen body of a woman who had just died.

A few decades ago, the people climbing Everest were largely experienced mountaineers willing to pay a lot of money. But in recent years, longtime climbers say, lower-cost operators working out of small storefronts in Kathmandu, the capital, and even more expensive foreign companies that do not emphasize safety have entered the market and offered to take just about anyone to the top.

Dutch shipping services provider Boskalis, which own Smit Salvage, a group involved in the rescue effort, likened the operation to trying to free a beached whale. “The more secure the ship is, the longer an operation will take,” Peter Berdowski, chief executive of Boskalis, told the Netherlands’ Nieuwsuur television programme on Wednesday. “It can take days to weeks. Bringing in all the equipment we need, that’s not around the corner.”
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Ranjith Raja, an analyst with financial services data firm Refinitiv, said more than 206 ships were waiting on either side of the canal to transit. The number has roughly doubled in the past 24 hours.

The first vessels appeared to start turning away from Suez and towards the Cape of Good Hope late on Thursday, including the Ever Greet cargo ship — a sister vessel of the Ever Given.

We've got a brand and by god we're sticking to it.https://t.co/i6sNMa9crE

— Four Seasons Total Evergreen (@SeeYouTMorra) March 28, 2021

Incredibly illustrative video to understand better the issue with #EVERGIVEN in the #suez pic.twitter.com/1iyPCh5tFk

— Fábio Carvalho (@fabioac) March 28, 2021

Below the water line of the #Suez canal. Incredible how narrow and shallow compared to mega ships like #evergiven. pic.twitter.com/1roMC91rDE

— frédérik ruys (@fruys) March 28, 2021

BREAKING: The giant ship blocking the Suez Canal has been freed by salvage crews, but it's unclear how soon the vital trade route will be open to traffic https://t.co/pDrrMxqFBp pic.twitter.com/uMC8wH0dRj

— Bloomberg (@business) March 29, 2021

This is news but does not seem like we’re out of the woods yet. Photo from Suez Canal Authority after the operation https://t.co/HR5ax0Nlvj pic.twitter.com/k3TcCZOLhk

— Mike Schuler (@MikeSchuler) March 29, 2021

Chairman of Suez Canal Authority says tugs dislodged the bow of the 1,300-foot Ever Given from the eastern bank of the canal. Tugboats will continue for another hour or so to ensure the vessel could begin moving again up the canal. https://t.co/e6WNqBknag

— James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) March 29, 2021

The Ever Given is floatingpic.twitter.com/GNzlzaom8q

— Evan Hill (@evanchill) March 29, 2021

Greetings and appreciation to the Egyptian administration and the Suez Canal Authority for this work pic.twitter.com/dfS8AdDbmn

— مًحًـمًدٍ إبرآهّيَـمً Fathelbab (@IbrahemFthelbab) March 29, 2021

The enormous container ship blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week has been turned 80 percent in the right direction, officials said Monday, raising hopes the vital trade route could soon be clear.
But its owner said that while the giant ship "has turned", it was still not fully free.
The MV Ever Given, longer than four football fields, became wedged diagonally across the canal during a sandstorm last Tuesday, strangling world supply chains.
Egypt is losing some $12-14 million in revenue from the canal for each day it is closed, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) chief Osama Rabie said.
Maritime data company Lloyd's List says the blockage is holding up an estimated $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe, with the tailback of ships reaching 425 at either end of the canal, in the Mediterranean and Red Sea.

#BREAKING 'Challenge is still ahead' to free Suez ship: salvage firm pic.twitter.com/OdiIv3Jzvf

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 29, 2021

So Egyptian outlet eXtra news which was showing a live stream of the attempt to move the Ever Given for the last two hours has now switched to showing a documentary. I wonder if that means the moving attempt has been stopped until later.

— Steve Lookner (@lookner) March 29, 2021

It's moving!

The Ever Given ship stuck in the Suez Canal was finally pulled free. The ship is moving north from where it was grounded https://t.co/v9WprWuKbS pic.twitter.com/iX9kt8A9m8

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) March 29, 2021