Cargo ship STUCK and blocking Egypt's Suez Canal

shiner

shiner

USAFA Grad, Faculty 3yrs, ALO 7yrs
10-Year Member
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Apr 16, 2010
Messages
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Wow! This may be a problem...
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apnews.com

Massive cargo ship becomes wedged, blocks Egypt's Suez Canal

ISMAILIA, Egypt (AP) — A skyscraper-sized container ship has become wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal and blocked all traffic in the vital waterway, officials said Wednesday, threatening to disrupt a global shipping system already strained by the coronavirus pandemic.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
The deckies are discussing this situation in Bridge Resource Management this week. Good to be able to critique a timely scenario. Great that many mids have been through the Suez Canal during sea year, so they understand some of the challenges. Hopefully a learning experience.
 
It's probably going to take awhile to get her out of there.. Earlier they had what looked like 4 tractor tugs pushing on her port quarter and another with a wire up, pulling on the port bow, trying to break her free.. The water depth at the channel center in the area of the grounding is probably around 24 meters. The ship has a reported draft of 15.7 meters, which is well within the canal limit... However, there is a gradient from the navigable bottom to the bank that, as I recall, is a bit steeper in the sections south of the Bitter Lakes. The width of the navigable channel where the ship grounded is a little over 160 meters. That not a lot room to navigate a ship that size especially in windy conditions. If it's blowing; trying to keep, a deep draft 400 meter long 60 meter wide ship with an enormous 'sail area', in the center of the canal is going to be a challenge.. Also, from my experience Suez Canal pilots ain't the best either..

Ever-Given-Suez-Canal.jpg
I'm sure that Evergreen and the Suez Canal Authority have had divers go down to check on the hull, particularly around the thrusters and in the area of the rudder and propeller.. I'm also sure they'll do another more thorough underwater survey once they get her free and up to anchor in Great Bitter Lake..
 
shiner said:
Wow! This may be a problem...
View attachment 8466

apnews.com

Massive cargo ship becomes wedged, blocks Egypt's Suez Canal

ISMAILIA, Egypt (AP) — A skyscraper-sized container ship has become wedged across Egypt's Suez Canal and blocked all traffic in the vital waterway, officials said Wednesday, threatening to disrupt a global shipping system already strained by the coronavirus pandemic.
apnews.com apnews.com
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One of the coolest things about being a KP parent for me is the opportunity to learn so many new things. I honestly never thought about the shipping industry until my two kids went to sea. Now I definitely look at the news differently, paying a lot more attention to accidents like this one, collisions, piracy, empty containers, the effects of oil and natural gas policy changes, and so much more. The best part is asking my kids questions and seeing our roles reversed as they patiently teach me about global shipping. One of the added benefits of Kings Point that I never really appreciated until sea year.
 
Looks like things are getting a bit crowded in the Gulf of Suez anchorages.. To add to the clutter, the ships that were in the convoy behind the EVER GIVEN have been backed down 5 miles and out of the canal.. Also the 33 ships that were in the southbound convoy when the grounding happened are now at anchor in Great Bitter Lake.. To get the EVER GIVEN free is going to take a monumental effort.. Probably involving some combination of lighting her up [by removing ballast, fuel and possibly cargo], dredging out the sand around the bow and stern and prodding her with tugboats.. My guess is that she's gonna be there for awhile. From what I've experienced in dealing with the Suez Canal Authority, I'll bet this is fast turning into a real $*** Show..

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Whole thread on this in off topic. I’ve discussed this with my students in depth and they have a very new healthy appreciation for the Captains and crews and dock workers that bring their goods to them. Happy to have been able to show them these images, ship tracker data and had great discussion about world commerce. They are groaning at the thought of gas prices (16 year old new drivers).
 
Heatherg21 said:
Whole thread on this in off topic. I’ve discussed this with my students in depth and they have a very new healthy appreciation for the Captains and crews and dock workers that bring their goods to them. Happy to have been able to show them these images, ship tracker data and had great discussion about world commerce. They are groaning at the thought of gas prices (16 year old new drivers).
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If only we were still energy independent like we were 3 months ago.
 
Korab said:
If only we were still energy independent like we were 3 months ago.
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Being self reliant was a component of the conversation. They were astonished at the number of merchant vessels on ship tracker. I asked them to go home and read the “made in” labels on their clothes, appliances, tires, batteries, devices and produce and meat. It’s homework. I think current events and out of the “curriculum” conversations and supplemental videos can be huge for young minds.
 
The EVER GIVEN is aground at canal kilometer 151.. Here's the canal cross section for the reach between km 149.4 and km 153.5. After looking again at the pictures of how the ship is laying I would bet big money that her rudder and propeller are in contact with the bottom. That is not good.. The winds at the time of the grounding were reported to be from the south at 20 to 22 knots.. Once the bulbous bow struck and buried into the east bank, the wind, pushing on her starboard quarter, pivoted her stern around until it fetched up on the west bank.. It looks like she's jammed in pretty good.

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@deepdraft1, I am a member of the Navy "Order of the Ditch". I remember this stretch of the transit. It seemed as if one could spit from the flight deck to either bank. If my memory is correct, the bridge team had our bow thrusters available just in case to avoid a situation as this. Would a vessel like this be outfitted with bow thrusters?

Edit: Memory slightly faded. "Order of the Ditch" is transiting the Panama Canal. The "Safari to Suez" is the certificate ship's company received.
 
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deepdraft1 said:
The EVER GIVEN is aground at canal kilometer 151.. Here's the canal cross section for the reach between km 149.4 and km 153.5. After looking again at the pictures of how the ship is laying I would bet big money that her rudder and propeller are in contact with the bottom. That is not good.. The winds at the time of the grounding were reported to be from the south at 20 to 22 knots.. Once the bulbous bow struck and buried into the east bank, the wind, pushing on her starboard quarter, pivoted her stern around until it fetched up on the west bank.. It looks like she's jammed in pretty good.
I
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I wonder what the wind restrictions for transiting the Suez. Its been many years since I've been through there. If the wind was 20-22kts...well thats not quite extreme. I'm still thinking Pilot Error. Some of those Pilots were not that impressive.
 
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kpmom2013 said:
One of the coolest things about being a KP parent for me is the opportunity to learn so many new things. I honestly never thought about the shipping industry until my two kids went to sea. Now I definitely look at the news differently, paying a lot more attention to accidents like this one, collisions, piracy, empty containers, the effects of oil and natural gas policy changes, and so much more. The best part is asking my kids questions and seeing our roles reversed as they patiently teach me about global shipping. One of the added benefits of Kings Point that I never really appreciated until sea year.
Click to expand...
Seeing the world through the eyes of my kids and now grandkids have taken over as my life’s greatest adventure.
 
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