A large container vessel, about equal in length to the height of New York's Empire State Building, ran aground in a lengthwise position and blocked the Suez Canal on Tuesday morning.
So far, efforts to refloat the MV Ever Given carrying hundreds of containers have been unsuccessful.
The incident is causing major delays to normal cargo flows estimated at $400 million an hour in trade.
But what has social media buzzing over the bottomed-out cargo ship on the manmade waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is the apparent NSFW pattern of the ship's route as it traveled from China to Rotterdam.
When looking at the GPS data through images and online video provided by the live boat tracking websites Vessel Finder and MyShipTracking.com, the Ever Given's route resembled that of a penis – testicles and all.
UPDATE 2: Suez Canal Blocked by Huge container ship; Video simulation of the controversial track… https://t.co/FJvGwkL9Ed— VesselFinder (@VesselFinder) 1616592911.0
Disinformation researcher John Scott-Railton insisted the phallic route was "innocent, but terrible luck."
OH NO: misfortune's unerring aim touched #EVERGIVEN's track as it departed the designated anchorage and steamed int… https://t.co/AEmYOBZVTR— John Scott-Railton (@John Scott-Railton) 1616545041.0
Vessel Finder provided a simulation of the Ever Given's nautical track in a YouTube video in which they claimed, "the obvious is not always true!"
The vessel-tracking website explained "the purpose of the video simulation is to show that the obvious is not always true concerning the controversial figure outlined by the track of the ship, which could be seen at the end of the video."
"Without this video, many people would think that the track of the ship (the data used to draw the track) is fake, but when viewed retrospectively, it seems that the figure is just a coincidence (or not?)."
Controversial track of the container ship Ever Given that blocked Suez Canalyoutu.be
But Twitter opted to see what they wanted to see and stuck to it.
Blocking the Suez Canal being a literal dick move.— Greg Johnson (@Greg Johnson) 1616586605.0
@nypost Someone really wanted to quit their job with a banger— horizonah🔞 open commission (@horizonah🔞 open commission) 1616666894.0
@nypost Maybe it was looking for the brown channel inlet 😅— PETER ,A saint by no other means but by GOD !! (@PETER ,A saint by no other means but by GOD !!) 1616611807.0
@nypost They did it to be cheeky. Too much dicking around. Need more to fill the cracks in this story.— C. Ronald Ekman (@C. Ronald Ekman) 1616612628.0
@nypost @hyperbitcoins No wonder the ship got shafted.— Crypto Rug Store (@Crypto Rug Store) 1616622883.0
@nypost What a ship show— Psteels (@Psteels) 1616681612.0
#EverGiven drawing a cock and balls before blocking the #SuezCanal is peak 2021. https://t.co/aC7kzEkQmE— Anna (@Anna) 1616540178.0
Shipping agent GAC said the Ever Given suffered a "black out," referring to a major power failure that caused the cargo vessel to come to a complete standstill.
Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation, expressed concern:
"Many companies continue to struggle with supply chain congestion and delays stemming from the pandemic. There is no doubt the delays will ripple through the supply chain and cause additional challenges."
Hopefully, there will be a quick and efficient method for the Ever Green to successfully pull out.