When news broke last week that the Ever Given container ship was stranded in the Suez Canal, this newspaper's graphics department began to prepare locator maps showing where the vessel was stuck and size comparison charts to help readers understand the task at hand to free such a massive vessel from the shore.
Many of us find it hard to comprehend units of measurements, so the coda of graphic artists tends to fall into size comparisons, such as buses, buildings and sporting fields. A hectare isn't a measure most of us can easily conjure, for instance, but we can when we learn that it is a little bigger than a football pitch or a little smaller than a rugby pitch. Even the morsel of information that the Ever Given loomed 73 metres over the shoreline didn't help much, whereas describing it as akin to a midrise 15-storey building, somehow does.
So with the Ever Given stuck and the shipping lanes rapidly clogging up around it, infographics artist Roy Cooper started prepping graphics for this 21st century Suez crisis.
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At 400m or quarter of a mile long, the ship is 40m bigger than one of the largest class of cruise ships in the world and around 5.5 times longer than the Airbus A380, the world's largest and most spacious passenger aircraft. He used both examples to compare to the Ever Given in our initial graphic documenting the crisis.
Cooper made a third choice for his chart, picking arguably the most famous ship of the 20th century: the RMS Titanic, which at 269 metres is dwarfed by both modern cruisers and container ships. He made the selection because, even 109 years since its sinking, Titanic remains such a popular culture lodestar and, he said, because it's a "ship people can relate to". Indeed, it is.
The comparison might have been seen as a challenging one, however, for those concerned with the Ever Given operation, because big ships are meant to be the near invisible drivers of the interconnected, just-in-time global economy, not potential symbols of hubris to rival the unsinkable Titanic.
It was also a reminder that too often we only get to know the names of ships through catastrophic events, such as the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that ran aground nine years ago and sank in shallow waters off Italy's Giglio island, killing 33 people. The salvage operation to refloat the vessel and move it to Genoa was eventually completed the following year. The court cases took longer. Other examples include the MV Hoegh Osaka, the car transporter that toppled over in the Solent strait, in the UK, in 2015, or the MV Wakashio, the bulk carrier that leaked tonnes of oil into clear waters off the coast of Mauritius only last summer.
A replica of the Titanic at the 2018 Boat Show in Abu Dhabi. The Titanic continues to capture people's imagination more than a hundred years after it capsized. Victor Besa / The National
The Costa Concordia lies on its side next to Giglio Island before being rolled off the seabed and onto underwater platforms. The cruise ship capsized and partially sank in 2012. Reuters
The Ever Given's story turned decisively on Monday morning, when information filtered through that the rescue and refloat operation had been successful, although a tense and contradictory few hours followed as high winds hampered the procedure and initially pushed the vessel across the canal back to where it had been stuck in the first place.
Eventually, however, the ship was freed and towed away for inspection. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called the refloating effort one of “massive technical complexity” and said the world could “rest assured about the passage of goods through this pivotal shipping route".
Once the backlog of shipping begins to subside and the investigations as to how this happened have concluded, the Ever Given may well slip quietly back into working the seas, saved from eternal infamy by the tireless work of the rescue and salvage crews that amassed on the canal and its banks over the past few days. Supply chains didn't snap beyond repair as was gloomily predicted by some and economies didn't collapse as a result. Normal service is expected to resume in a week or two, possibly sooner.
We should be thankful for that. If the name Ever Given had remained at the top of the news cycle over the next few months, then it would almost certainly only mean that the world was in deep trouble and that a week-long crisis had become a much longer and more complex catastrophe. Of the many reasons that the Costa Concordia remains a powerful emblem of disaster even now is that, for a period, it served as a visible and physical symbol of Europe's gathering economic problems in the early 2010s. The Ever Given has been spared a similar fate thanks to those rescue crews.
There is one final comparison to be made for the Ever Given, this time from April 2010.
Back then a major incident disrupted global air travel for more than a week and even left the singer Tom Jones stuck in Abu Dhabi for days after appearing in concert in the capital when flights to Europe were grounded.
One suspects the Suez episode was similarly fleeting, although news of a volcano erupting outside Reykjavik this month and disrupting some air traffic from the Icelandic capital's international airport brought memories of 2010 flooding back.
Nick March is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
A volcanic eruption is seen near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland. Reuters
Fannar Jonasson (L), mayor of the town of Grindavik, speaks to a rescue team member in Grindavik, Iceland, during the eruption of a volcano near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Reuters
Rescue personnel work at the rescue team station in Grindavik, Iceland, during the eruption of a volcano near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Reuters
A volcanic eruption is seen near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Reuters
In this still image captured from a hand out video, filmed by the Icelandic Coast Guard, lava flows from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano some 50 km west of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. AFP
In this still image captured from a hand out video, filmed by the Icelandic Coast Guard, lava flows from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano some 50 km west of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. AFP
The red shimmer from magma is seen coming out from the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano as an emergency vehicle close the road to the area near the town of Grindavik some 40km west of the Icelandic capital Reykjavik. AFP
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Know before you go
Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
