Law students express concern at highlighter shortage in wake of Suez Canal crisis

APRIL FOOLS! Delays to UK shipments send prices of popular stationery soaring

The Suez Canal crisis looks to have created a major headache for stationery loving law students across the UK, with many claiming they’ve been unable to source much-needed highlighters due to shipping delays from China.

The week-long standstill in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes came after a 400 meter container ship known as the Ever Given became stranded diagonally, creating huge tailbacks and delays to UK-bound orders.

Although the super tanker is now free and ships are once again sailing down the Suez, some aspiring lawyers say the hold-up has left them running dangerously low on highlighter pens, while others have run out all together.

One desperate GDL student who asked to remain anonymous told us: “This is getting very serious. I’m down to half a yellow highlighter and I’ve a tort exam next week — what the hell am I going to do?”

Another LPC student, who again didn’t want to be named, revealed they’d sourced a six-pack of highlighters online and stumped up an additional £4.99 for next day delivery.

“It’s been two days and they still haven’t arrived,” the exasperated student explained. “I’ve a brand new land law textbook and the pages remain un-highlighted. My friend who studies geography suggested using a coloured pen but it’s just not the same.”

There’s also been unconfirmed reports that the temporary shortage has prompted a secretive, dark web style market to form, where highlighters can fetch two and even three times their recommended retail price.

One aspiring solicitor explained how he sourced a small pack of magenta highlighters and is now selling them for £4.28 each. “It’s basic commercial awareness,” they said. “I could see what was unfolding in the Suez, and knew this would create problems further down the line. For those interested, I now accept Bitcoin payments too.”