Given that the Suez Canal might be blocked, the only alternate sea route to Europe (from China) is sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. This route is approximately 3.600 miles (nautical) longer than...

Given that the Suez Canal might be blocked, the only alternate sea route to Europe (from China) is sailing around the Cape of Good Hope. This route is approximately 3.600 miles (nautical) longer than the Suez Canal route, and takes about 9 days at typical 16.5 knots (mph).

List the factors (as many as you can think of) affecting the cost of transporting cargo by sea and guess their weight (importance) on the total cost.

What change in the factors above would affect the optimal sailing speed?