The text discusses how a 200,000 ton container ship named the Ever Given became stuck in the Suez Canal, disrupting global supply chains. To keep people informed about the situation, a coworker Kelley Robinson created a Twilio phone number that users can text to receive updates on the ship's status using the Marine Traffic API and Python programming. The article provides a step-by-step guide on how to build a similar application using Twilio Programmable Messaging, Flask, and the Marine Traffic API. The process involves setting up an environment, installing dependencies, retrieving data from the Marine Traffic API, and building a Flask app that responds to incoming text messages with updates on the ship's status.