Suez Canal blocked by container ship 36

[verymadmac]

It might not be an engineering issue that started it, but I bet is going to change a few specifications.
BBC piece here Link



It looks like the bow is hard aground, refloating will be an interesting exercise given the time pressure.



Canal profile is here

https://www.suezcanal.gov.eg/English/About/SuezCanal/Pages/CanalCharacteristics.aspx

 

The state of emergency was declared to ensure a smooth passage for the massive vessel

Normally you have an emergency before declaring a state of emergency. And anyway, proper navigation is what will get this vessel (and every vessel) safely through.

You only have one job to do Suez, so spare us the drama and just do it.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[dik]

I don't think that's the way they play the game... they can charge you money to provide a pilot that has absolutely no responsibility. If a problem develops, they can walk away and then charge you whatever fees they want for you to remedy it. It can happen when you have the only wagon on the block. I'm just waiting for the north passage to open. The Egyptians need a little competition.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

To be honest I have heard you are more likely to find the latest cal pilots in the galley than the bridge.

 

[spsalso]

A person could wonder if they declared a state of emergency when any of Ever Given's 12 sister ships passed through.


spsalso

 

[TugboatEng]

Theater...

 

[debodine]

Declaring a state of emergency in this case? My uneducated guess would be some very high official said, "We have to do something!" and some not quite as high official said, "I will declare a state of emergency to show I am obeying very high official."

 

"I will declare a state of emergency to show I am obeying very high official."

That would be Pharoah, who, coincidentally, walks like an Egyptian.


"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[Spartan5]

They need to change the company name to Evergrounded. Because right now, the Ever Forward is the Never Movin’.

 

[TugboatEng]

Insufficient tugboats.

 

[hokie66]

Wouldn't want to be in that pilot's shoes.

 

[FacEngrPE]

These channels are deep, but are steep sided.

"hign winds are being blamed. Ventusky reports about 14 kts at 9:00 PM (eastern daylight time) March 14.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Wouldn't be to harsh unless they were trying to be cheap with Tug support.

Sand banks move and these are big ships with a wind on their side.

 

Insufficient tugboats.

I'd expect you to say that.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[TugboatEng]

Should I have declared a potential conflict before making that statement?

 

[dik]

Even if you have a vested interest, likely insufficient tugboats...

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[FacEngrPE]

I think the tugboats mostly work inside the harbor, west of key bridge.
The grounding occurred in a location where tugboat assistance would be unusual.
In the Chesapeake Bay near Norfolk it is unusual to see tug assistance outside of the harbor.

https://bayweekly.com/gentlemen-of-the-harbor-stories-of-chesapeake-bay-tugboats-and-crews/[/URL]]Bay pilots take over the helm of foreign vessels to get them up the main stem of the Chesapeake. When they near the Key Bridge, a tugboat captain takes the helm from the pilot, and his first mate takes over the tug to maneuver the ship into dock space.

 

[TugboatEng]

My comment was meant to be a joke. With sufficient tugboats, the grounding could have been prevented but it's not practical to have sufficient tugboats at all times.

 

[Cool_Controls]

I hear this vessel isn't going anywhere anytime soon, she's got 42 foot draft and ran aground at 12 knots in 24 feet of water. Apparently there is a lot of clay there to make matters worse, I talked to guy who got the call to put his tugs on her and she didnt budge at all. They are talking dredging and offloading fuel. Offloading cargo as a last resort.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Do they know why she was off the shipping channel?

 

[FacEngrPE]

Tug - I agree - Tug escorts everywhere are just not practical.

This incident reminds me of the story of the USS Missouri (BB-63) grounding on 17 January 1950.

http://navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-037.php[/URL]]The XO and the quartermaster tried to warn Capt. Brown that he was heading the wrong way, but their advice was ignored. As a result, Capt. Brown ran his ship aground at a point 1.6 miles from Thimble Shoals Light, near Old Point Comfort in Chesapeake Bay. USS Missouri went into the mud at 12.5 knots and traversed shoal water for a distance of about three ship lengths from the main channel. The grounding lifted her about 7 feet (2 meters) above her waterline and left her badly stranded on a mud flat. This was also during an unusually high tide, making matters worse. During the next three weeks, four unsuccessful attempts were made to free her. After a channel was dredged back to the main shipping channel, the fifth try, with the aid of a fleet of tugs, pontoons, an incoming tide and good deal of elbow grease, succeeded and she was refloated on 1 February 1950.