Ship stuck across (blocking) the Suez Canal

[john new]

See BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-56505413

 

Given the reported boat-jam behind the accident I hope the expected models for 2ndQ delivery and reported as already in transit will not be overly delayed.

 

I found the fact that they have already had to build a Suez Canal bypass interesting too and are now using it for diverted traffic. No options for shipping containers around the blockage on alternative transport though.

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by john new
Minor edit to title for clarity

[admiles]

44 minutes ago, john new said:

See BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-56505413

 

Given the reported boat-jam behind the accident I hope the expected models for 2ndQ delivery and reported as already in transit will not be overly delayed.

 

I found the fact that they have already had to build a Suez Canal bypass interesting too and are now using it for diverted traffic. No options for shipping containers around the blockage on alternative transport though.

 

 

I have some rather urgently required project cargo on the Ever Given. So I'm hoping they "unstick" the thing pronto!

 

Would love to know how they managed to get it where it is too. Steering gear failure or loss of power maybe? (Edit: High winds I see.....)

Edited March 24, 2021 by admiles

[dhjgreen]

 "suspected of being hit by a sudden strong wind, causing the hull to deviate... and accidentally hit the bottom and run aground".

[62613]

Blacked out

[Wolf27]

well that's all the Easter surprises ruined then. Been waiting 5 years for (insert model here) to arrive and now the ship is stuck. I hope (insert model manufacturer/commissioner here) has taken this up with the shipping company and will be compensated for ruining everyones day. or just get a life 

 

*not to be taken seriously*

[john new]

Happened yesterday.  Apparently now partially freed (Today’s Guardian update).

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by john new
Added the link.

[Gwiwer]

1 minute ago, john new said:

Apparently now partially freed

But which part?  Surely all or nothing?  Or has half the ship floated off leaving the rest behind?  

 

It's like hearing announcements asking us to "Wait until the train comes to a complete stop"  What other sort of stop is there?  

[Reorte]

2 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

But which part?  Surely all or nothing?  Or has half the ship floated off leaving the rest behind?  

 

It's like hearing announcements asking us to "Wait until the train comes to a complete stop"  What other sort of stop is there?  

3-link couplings and no continuous braking will certainly produce an incomplete stop. Not really relevant to an announcement on a modern passenger train though (and that's really stretching the definition of "modern.")

[john new]

1 minute ago, Gwiwer said:

But which part?  Surely all or nothing?  Or has half the ship floated off leaving the rest behind?  

 

It's like hearing announcements asking us to "Wait until the train comes to a complete stop"  What other sort of stop is there?  

It said partially refloated; my interpretation is therefore progress is being made but it isn’t sufficiently free yet to unblock the route. 

[woodenhead]

2 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

But which part?  Surely all or nothing?  Or has half the ship floated off leaving the rest behind?  

 

It's like hearing announcements asking us to "Wait until the train comes to a complete stop"  What other sort of stop is there?  

It's the containers, they've been tossed overboard to let the hull rise off where it has bottomed out.

 

Some mention of the now floating containers being for a project.......

[newbryford]

21 minutes ago, Wolf27 said:

well that's all the Easter surprises ruined then. Been waiting 5 years for (insert model here) to arrive and now the ship is stuck. I hope (insert model manufacturer/commissioner here) has taken this up with the shipping company and will be compensated for ruining everyones day. or just get a life 

 

*not to be taken seriously*

 

Does it really matter if we have to wait a few more days for our toys? After all, it's only a trainset and nobody will die

Edited March 24, 2021 by newbryford

[Gwiwer]

12 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

It's the containers, they've been tossed overboard to let the hull rise off where it has bottomed out.

 

Some mention of the now floating containers being for a project.......

Locos first then - carriages and wagons are lighter   

[dhjgreen]

It's moving, BBC news just now.

[Gwiwer]

2 minutes ago, dhjgreen said:

It's moving, BBC news just now.

"Left hand down a bit"

 

 

[john new]

Latest from the BBC (link as above):-

 

The company that manages the container ship, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), has denied earlier reports that the ship had already been partially refloated.

[Guest]

The ship's course prior to the incident was.... interesting.

 

https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/24/cargo-ship-drew-giant--in-red-sea-before-blocking-suez-canal-14298538/

[woodenhead]

5 minutes ago, 30801 said:

The ship's course prior to the incident was.... interesting.

 

https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/24/cargo-ship-drew-giant--in-red-sea-before-blocking-suez-canal-14298538/

Clearly not happy with the doors on the new Heljan class 25 and showing his anger by delaying the Ethel2 production batch.

[melmerby]

46 minutes ago, john new said:

Latest from the BBC (link as above):-

 

The company that manages the container ship, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), has denied earlier reports that the ship had already been partially refloated.

Still stuck fast 1 minute ago:

Complete with a bevvy of tugs attempting to move her.

 

[woodenhead]

Fifty ships a day pass through Suez, last incident in 2017 involved mechanical failure, this was caused by a gust of wind??

 

Something certainly smells in this incident and I don't think it is wind.

 

That phallic maneuver cannot be a happy coincidence as well, was that wind too? 

[melmerby]

I wonder whether this will load properly?

https://www.myshiptracking.com/?mmsi=353136000

 

No it doesn't, It was a play back of the ship's route.

You can follow it and do a slo-mo replay but it doesn't save the animation.

It hit the sand at 03:53:00 GMT/UTC yesterday morning.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by melmerby

[melmerby]

25 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Fifty ships a day pass through Suez, last incident in 2017 involved mechanical failure, this was caused by a gust of wind??

 

Something certainly smells in this incident and I don't think it is wind.

 

That phallic maneuver cannot be a happy coincidence as well, was that wind too? 

There were an awful lot of ships jockeying for position in a small area when it was drawing a willy.

 

It seemed to be going from side to side as it proceeded through the canal as if the steering was a bit iffy, other ships seemed more stable.

That link will take you to it's current position from where you have various options in the program.

[The Johnster]

I would be very doubtful that the phallic manoevre ever happened; you can't move 200kton container ships around that easily.  It could, I concede, be the result of tug-assisted backing and filling in the Gulf of Suez as she got under way and aligned herself with the entrance when her turn to enter the canal came up.  All ships suffer from a  thing called 'windage', the effect of wind on the side of the hull and superstructure that will push her off course downwind if it comes from the side of the ship. 

 

When a ship is proceeding slowly, as it does through the canal for safety reasons (ironically enough in this case) and to avoid excessive wash-related erosion of the sandy banks, the effect of windage on her forward speed and heading is greater than it would be at full speed in the open sea, and if she is a fully loaded container ship, the slab sided stacks of containers increase the area subject to windage, and thus it's effect.  I am quite happy with the explanation that this incident was caused by strong winds blowing her off course, and possibly her 'wagging her tail' if more power was put on to help straighten her up.  Or perhaps she was picking up too much speed and the Canal Pilot ordered a temporary slowing or stop of the engines (she would lose her speed at a slow rate with that amount of momentum), at which point an unlucky strong gust, or even an equally potentially unlucky respite in the wind which he was steering to correct for, undid his shiphandling.  The Suez canal has no locks and is a simple cut between the Mediterranean and Red Seas through the desert. there are thus currents as the tides are differnent in both seas and at both ends which change at different times, all of which makes the navigation of a ship through it more 'interesting'.

 

Imagine steering a car where the steering was done by the rear wheels, and where the road moves in unpredictable ways, and where the wind can blow you off your line. and where the effect of a full reverse is to slew you further off course.  Or perhaps the analogy of a powered supermarket trolley on an unpredictably undulating floor is better.

 

I'm sure this is an ordinary mishap, if that makes sense, rather than any conspiracy or cover up to disrupt World Trade or delay the delivery of models. 

[Michael Hodgson]

Sounds as though they let the Ship's Cat have a go at the helm.

[PenrithBeacon]

Or Long John Silver 

[melmerby]

40 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

I would be very doubtful that the phallic manoevre ever happened

It certainly did:

The speed and heading are available all through that manoeuvre.

Some of the smaller movements in the middle can be attributed to tide and current movements when nominally stationary but not the general course.