Greek Crisis Causes Delay in Shipment of 159 Blocks of MLK Washington Memorial Sculpture

The 159 blocks of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Washington memorial sculpture sits at a Chinese seaport, delayed due to Greek crisis.

The Greek crisis has filtered down to Washington D. C. The giant pieces of sculpture for the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial needs to be transported from China through Greece. According to the Washington Post, the 159 huge stone blocks that make up the sculpture are sitting at a Chinese seaport because of the economic crisis in Greece, no Greek shippers could be found to do the job.

"They apologized and said their country is in dire straits and they will not be able to fulfill their promise," said Ed Jackson Jr., the project's executive architect. A spokesman at the Embassy of Greece in Washington confirmed that, saying no Greek shippers could be found to do the job. The "economic crisis bites everywhere," he said. Jackson said that project officials have money budgeted for the task but that a new shipper "hasn't been clearly lined up yet."

He said the sculpture weighs 1,600 metric tons. Geoffrey C. Powell, vice president of operations for C.H. Powell Co., a Baltimore-based international freight forwarding firm, said shipping rates could range from $60 to $150 a ton -- or about $96,000 to $240,000 for such a trip. Source: Washington Post

Why couldn't that sculpture be made in America? The King memorial project is now being delayed because of transportation issues. The reality is, "you get what you pay for."

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