SINGAPORE, March 26. /TASS/. The normal marine cargo transportation disrupted because of the Suez Canal blocking by the container ship aground can only be expected in the second half of the year at the earliest or probably in 2022, Professor of the Singapore University of Social Sciences Yap Wei Yim told TASS on Friday

"The Suez Canal uses a convoy system to organize northbound and southbound traffic. The ship buildup continues," the expert said. Almost 200 vessels are waiting in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea," he noted. "Shipping lines will have to consider their options of going via the Cape route which could incur an additional 2 weeks of sailing time," Yap Wei Yim noted.

"Realistically speaking, we could see the impact of this episode lasting well into the second half of 2021 and even into 2022," the expert said.

"As a major transshipment hub for the Asia Pacific region, the impact for the port of Singapore will be felt through disruptions to shipping schedules, particularly for mainline services that are plying between Asia and Europe. Singapore is a key port-of-call on this trade and for a number of services that go through Southeast Asia, Singapore is the only port-of-call in the region," Yap Wei Yim added.