Throughout the week, estimates had shown 10% of global maritime trade that would pass through this narrow corridor between Asia and Europe. It is to say if, with each day of delay, speculations were rife on the losses that such and such sector of the economy would have to suffer.
And yet it was a banal full moon — and the high tides that accompanied it — that provided the costly bailouts the boost they lacked.
A little (heavenly) mechanics. Tides are first and foremost the result of the Moon’s rotation around the Earth. The Moon may be small, but it is massive enough to “pull” the Earth towards it, causing tides. These are at their highest level when the Earth is in alignment with the Sun and the Moon. This was the case on Sunday, a full moon day, and better yet, it coincided with the period when the Moon is closest to the Earth (the perigee, March 30), which accentuated a little more high tide.
Casually, it translated by a 46 centimeter higher water level in the Suez Canal. The most powerful tractors in the world could not have done better.
photo: Planet Labs Inc.
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