EXTRA: Frustration as ship laden with sex toys stuck in Suez Canal blockage

There is frustration among sex toy customers as a ship loaded with several pleasure items got stuck in the ongoing impasse over Ever Given, a mega-container ship stranded in Egypt’s Suez Canal.

According to Metro UK, the ship carrying about 20 containers full of “dildos, vibrators and male masturbators” is among the over 230 others stuck in the traffic jam as efforts to address the situation continue.

EDC Retail, a Dutch company, which runs the biggest online sex toy shops in Netherlands and Belgium, estimated that it is currently losing millions over the inability to replenish its stocks.

Evertine Magerman, the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), told RTV Noord, a Dutch news website, that several of their containers carrying sex toys are held up in the blockage.

“There are more than twenty containers full of well-running items, such as vibrators, dildos, and male masturbators. A lot of these products were sold for Christmas and Valentine’s Day, for example,” Magerman said.

“There is now an extra lot on the way to restore stocks. But that is not possible now. It is annoying that such a hitch will continue for a long time before the rhythm in the transport chain is restored.”

Fears have continued to grow since the blockage of the Suez Canal — the shortest shipping route from Europe to Asia — occurred on Tuesday, barring the flow of shipping activities.

The 200,000-tonne ship is the length of four football pitches and one of the world’s biggest container vessels, capable of carrying 20,000 containers.

Officials had earlier estimated that it could take “days to weeks” to remove the mega-container ship.

The development has grounded global trade and is said to be blocking an estimated $9.6 billion (N3.93 trillion) of goods per day.

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) had earlier said it was doing all it could to refloat the ship with tug boats, dredgers and heavy earth-moving equipment.