一艘船如何引發全球大塞車：英語精讀講義

On March 23,

3月23日，

2021,

2021年，

the container ship Ever Given was on its journey

貨櫃輪「長賜輪」正在航行，

between the port of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia

往返於馬來西亞丹戎帕拉帕斯港

and Rotterdam in the Netherlands

與荷蘭鹿特丹之間，

when it was sailing through the Suez Canal in Egypt.

當時它正航行在埃及的蘇伊士運河中。

According to the shipping company, 表達脈絡

據航運公司稱，

the vessel was hit by a strong sandstorm

該船遭遇了強烈的沙塵暴，

with wind speeds up to 74 km an hour,

風速高達每小時74公里，

causing it to no longer be steerable. 文法

導致船隻無法轉向。

At 7:40 a.m. local time,

當地時間上午7點40分，

the ship rammed into the side wall of the canal. 片語搭配

船隻撞上了運河側壁。

About half an hour later,

大約半小時後，

the first Egyptian tugboats and firefighting ships arrived,

第一批埃及拖船和消防船趕到，

but freeing the ship will prove to be a difficult undertaking. 文法

但解救這艘船將是一項艱鉅的任務。

The first images began to circulate on the internet 片語搭配

最早的圖像開始在網路上流傳，

and showed that the ship has dug itself into the side wall. 片語搭配

顯示這艘船已經嵌進了側壁。

And satellite images reveal how the ship is completely blocking passage

衛星圖像顯示這艘船是如何完全阻塞

through the canal.

運河通道的。

The Ever Given is a type of ship

「長賜輪」是一種

that can carry a maximum of 20,124 containers,

最多可運載20,124個貨櫃的船隻，

which makes it one of the largest container ships in the world. 文法

這使它成為全球最大的貨櫃輪之一。

To make the size clearer, 表達脈絡

為了讓大家對其尺寸有更清晰的概念，

here is a person for comparison.

這裡用一個人作為對比。

Here is the Titanic.

這是鐵達尼號。

And here is the Empire State Building

這是帝國大廈

in New York laid on its side. 片語搭配

（位於紐約）橫躺下來的長度。

Early attempts to free the ship with tugboats alone

早期僅使用拖船解救船隻的嘗試

did not lead to success,

並未取得成功，

and excavators began trying to free the ship.

怪手開始嘗試挖出船體。

The profile of the Suez Canal is angled on the sides,

蘇伊士運河的剖面兩側是傾斜的，

which means it only has its full depth in the middle.

這意味著只有中間才有最大深度。

A fleet of tugboats trying to free the Ever Given.

一支拖船隊試圖解救「長賜輪」。

President Biden says the U.S. is ready to assist.

拜登總統表示，美國準備提供協助。

Dutch firm Smit Salvage and Nippon Salvage from Japan

荷蘭斯密特打撈公司和日本打撈公司

have been brought in to rescue the Ever Given. 片語動詞

被請來協助解救「長賜輪」。

Salvage crews have been working round the clock, 慣用語

打撈人員夜以繼日地工作，

at the moment concentrating on digging tons of sand 片語搭配

目前正集中清理成噸的泥沙，

out from under the ship's bow and stern. 用詞

從船頭和船尾下方挖出。

The stern of the vessel is now free,

船尾現在已經解困，

and the Egyptian authorities say they're hoping

埃及當局表示他們希望

higher tides and the arrival of more tugboats on Sunday

週日更高的漲潮以及更多拖船的到來

will help their operation.

能夠幫助他們的行動。

The artificial canal connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.

這條人工運河連接著紅海和地中海。

For the busy trade routes between the Indian Ocean and the North Atlantic,

對於印度洋和北大西洋之間繁忙的貿易航線來說，

the canal cuts travel times for container ships 片語搭配

運河縮短了貨櫃輪的航行時間

by around 8 to 10 days,

約8到10天，

as the only alternative is to circumnavigate the entire African continent.

因為唯一的替代方案是繞行整個非洲大陸。

The canal is an important source of revenue for Egypt. 片語搭配

運河是埃及重要的收入來源。

The country receives more than 5 billion US dollars annually

該國每年透過過境費獲得

through transit fees,

超過50億美元的收入，

which in turn means that the average price per transit 表達脈絡

這也意味著平均每次過境的費用

is over $300,000.

超過了30萬美元。

One limitation, however, 表達脈絡

然而，一個限制是，

is that a large part of the route

航線的很大一部分

can only be shipped in a single lane.

只能進行單向通航。

Therefore, traffic has to alternate 片語搭配

因此，交通必須在

between north traveling and south traveling ships.

北向和南向航行的船隻之間交替進行。

There are waiting areas,

沿途設有等待區，

such as in the Great Bitter Lake,

例如大苦湖，

where ships can hold for traffic,

船隻可以在此等待通行，

and where they have the opportunity to turn around if necessary. 片語動詞

必要時還有機會掉頭。

Since 2015,

自2015年起，

due to the construction of the New Suez Canal,

由於新蘇伊士運河的建設，

a larger part of the canal has two lanes

運河的更大一部分擁有了雙航道，

and is therefore navigable in both directions at the same time. 用詞

因此可以同時在雙向航行。

However, there's only a single lane

然而，「長賜輪」擱淺的地方

where the Ever Given is stuck,

只有單條航道，

which means all traffic on the canal

這意味著運河上的所有交通

has come to a standstill. 慣用語

都陷入了停滯。

Over the course of the blockage, 片語搭配

在堵塞期間，

about 370 ships were waiting for passage

約有370艘船隻在等待通行，

on both sides of the canal,

停留在運河兩側，

and it is estimated that every day

據估計，每天

this incident held up goods worth $9.6 billion US dollars. 片語動詞

這一事件滯留了價值96億美元的貨物。

The uncertainty about how long the blockade will last

封鎖將持續多久的不確定性，

makes it difficult for shipping companies to decide 文法

使航運公司很難決定

whether it makes more sense to wait until the canal is clear 片語搭配

究竟是等待運河暢通更合理，

or to send their ships on the way

還是讓他們的船隻改變航線

to the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa.

前往非洲南端的好望角。

Some have made this expensive decision,

一些公司做出了這個昂貴的決定，

including the Ever Greet,

包括「長迎輪」（Ever Greet），

the sister ship of the Ever Given 用詞

它是阻塞運河的「長賜輪」的

that blocks the canal.

姐妹船。

Both ships are operated by the shipping company Evergreen.

兩艘船均由長榮海運公司營運。

Such a situation is particularly critical

這種情況尤其危急，

for ships that have livestock on board, 用詞

特別是對於裝載牲畜的船隻，

for which there is not enough water and food

它們沒有足夠的水和食物

for extremely long delays.

來應對極其漫長的延誤。

And the blockade came at a very unfortunate time,

這次封鎖發生的時機也非常不巧，

as global supply chains are already operating at their limit 慣用語

因為全球供應鏈已經超負荷運轉，

because of a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

這正是COVID-19大流行的結果。

In many countries,

在許多國家，

the ratio of imports and exports has changed recently.

進出口比例最近發生了變化。

Lockdowns and decreased economic activity

封城和經濟活動的減少

lead to lower production and fewer exports in many places,

導致許多地方的產量降低和出口減少，

especially in Europe and North America.

尤其是在歐洲和北美。

By contrast, 表達脈絡

相比之下，

imports from Asia are still needed,

來自亞洲的進口依然被需要，

for example, from China

例如從中國進口，

where production was able to start up again much sooner. 片語動詞

那裡的生產得以更早恢復。

This leads to an imbalance and a shortage of containers

這導致了貨櫃的失衡和短缺，

because they leave Asia but do not come back at the same speed.

因為它們離開亞洲後，並沒有以同樣的速度返回。

North America currently faces a 40% imbalance of containers,

北美目前面臨40%的貨櫃失衡，

which means that for every 100 containers that arrive, 文法

這意味著每到達100個貨櫃，

only 40 are exported back.

只有40個被出口返回。

The delays on the Suez Canal are stressing 慣用語

蘇伊士運河的延誤正在給

an already tense logistics system.

本已緊張的物流系統增加壓力。

Heralded by a fanfare of horns, 文法

伴隨著陣陣汽笛聲的宣告，

the Ever Given is afloat at last.

「長賜輪」終於重新浮起。

On March 29,

3月29日，

at about 3:00 p.m. local time,

當地時間下午3點左右，

roughly 150 hours since the ship got stuck,

也就是在船隻擱淺大約150小時後，

authorities were able to free the vessel.

當局成功解救了這艘船。

They took advantage of high spring tides around full moon 片語搭配

他們利用了滿月附近的大潮，

and used 14 tugboats to dislodge the Ever Given.

並使用14艘拖船將「長賜輪」拖離。

The ship was then towed to the Great Bitter Lake for inspection,

隨後，這艘船被拖至大苦湖進行檢查，

and traffic along the Suez Canal continued at 7:00 p.m. local time.

蘇伊士運河的交通於當地時間晚上7點恢復。

Even though the blockade is resolved,

儘管封鎖已被解除，

it is expected that the large wave of container ships 文法

但預計大量貨櫃輪

arriving at ports in Europe and Asia in quick succession 片語搭配

接連不斷地抵達歐洲和亞洲的港口，

will overwhelm the handling capacity of even the biggest ports.

將使即使是最大港口的吞吐能力也無法承受。

So the delay is expected to cause a ripple effect 慣用語

因此，這種延誤預計會引發連鎖反應，

that will add stress to port facilities and even inland infrastructure.

將給港口設施甚至內陸基礎設施增加壓力。

A maritime accident with global implications.

這是一場具有全球影響的海上事故。

Shipping analysts are already predicting disruption and price hikes.

航運分析師已經預測了供應鏈的中斷和價格上漲。

Europe likely hit first with possible shortages of household products. 用詞

歐洲可能最先受到衝擊，家庭用品可能出現短缺。

So if you're at the shops and what you want isn't there

所以，如果你在商店裡找不到想要的東西，

or costs a bit more,

或者價格貴了一點，

remember that ship.

請記住這艘船。

It might seem as if this blockage doesn't affect us 文法

這次堵塞似乎並沒有影響到我們，

because it's happening in indirect ways.

因為它正以間接的方式發生。

But it does,

但它確實影響了我們，

and not just some of us, 文法

而且不僅是我們中的一部分人，

but pretty much all of us.

而是幾乎所有人。

About 12% of the world trade volume passes through the Suez Canal,

全球約12%的貿易量通過蘇伊士運河，

and a complete blockage of it,

而它的完全堵塞，

even just for a few days,

哪怕只有幾天，

affects an astounding amount of goods and resources

也會影響數量驚人的貨物和資源，

and causes severe economic effects,

並造成嚴重的經濟影響，

both due to direct damages 文法

既因為直接的損失，

as well as due to the uncertainty that it creates.

也因為它製造的不確定性。