Suez blocked by stuck ship!
Discussion
Presumably it was meandering around drawing a phallic course waiting it's turn to go into the canal?
A bit weird or did the bored Officer at the helm think screw this minimum wage lark before turning hard starboard once well inside..
Enormous economic damage and worldwide publicity without blowing yourself up in a fruit market for some virgins.
It does show how relatively easy it could be for an individual with a grudge to cause huge impact to important infrastructure.
I'm surprised someone hasn't taken an old cement laden rust bucket through before now and opened the seacocks at a critical point.
A bit weird or did the bored Officer at the helm think screw this minimum wage lark before turning hard starboard once well inside..
Enormous economic damage and worldwide publicity without blowing yourself up in a fruit market for some virgins.
It does show how relatively easy it could be for an individual with a grudge to cause huge impact to important infrastructure.
I'm surprised someone hasn't taken an old cement laden rust bucket through before now and opened the seacocks at a critical point.
paralla said:
Simpo Two said:
So the engines in that ship can't power them? That electricity comes from somewhere...
It will have one engine of around 40MW for propulsion, three auxiliary generator engines of around 1MW for main electrical power generation and an emergency generator of around 350kW. Before it’s possible to start the main engine at least one of the three generator engines must be running to provide electrical power to the main engine ancillaries.
peterperkins said:
Presumably it was meandering around drawing a phallic course waiting it's turn to go into the canal?
A bit weird or did the bored Officer at the helm think screw this minimum wage lark before turning hard starboard once well inside..
Enormous economic damage and worldwide publicity without blowing yourself up in a fruit market for some virgins.
It does show how relatively easy it could be for an individual with a grudge to cause huge impact to important infrastructure.
I'm surprised someone hasn't taken an old cement laden rust bucket through before now and opened the seacocks at a critical point.
The Suez Canal has been closed before. Look at the Six Day War in 1967 via the Yom Kippur War in '73, through to the Canal's re-opening in 1975 after extensive mine clearing operations by the UK and US Navies. Search Google for the Suez Canal Yellow Fleet, 15 ships trapped within the canal for 8 years by scuttled ships and sea mines...A bit weird or did the bored Officer at the helm think screw this minimum wage lark before turning hard starboard once well inside..
Enormous economic damage and worldwide publicity without blowing yourself up in a fruit market for some virgins.
It does show how relatively easy it could be for an individual with a grudge to cause huge impact to important infrastructure.
I'm surprised someone hasn't taken an old cement laden rust bucket through before now and opened the seacocks at a critical point.
https://qz.com/1988437/the-suez-canals-worst-stuck...
Edited by yellowjack on Thursday 25th March 09:18
Blackpuddin said:
If all it takes for this to happen is a gust of wind (and presumably an inept crew) I'm amazed it hasn't happened before.
That's because it's a horses
t excuse peddled by the ship managers, the excuse peddled by the canal operator(failure of ship's systems) may also be horsest but is at least plausible.yellowjack said:
This ship's power stuff sounds more and more like a Chieftain Tank all the time. No need for pumps, etc, on a Chieftain, but a lot of ancillary equipment could be run off the wee GUE (generator unit engine). In the main it was so that the thermal signature of the vehicle could be reduced, and fuel saved, by shutting down the main engine but still making the necessary sparks to run radios, NBC air filtration system, and turret/gunnery kit when dug in. The GUE was also used to start the main engine because the GUE starter motor was smaller and drew less power from the 24 volt automotive batteries. Once the GUE was chucking out amps there wasn't any worry over whether the main engine would start before the battery was discharged.
Aah Chieftain, Soltau, Wolfgang & Yellow Handbags...You've got me all sentimental now!
808 Estate said:
One of the ferries I was working on in the 90s went black about half an hour after leaving Dover. Lost all main engines and generators. Emergency genny kicked in which kept lighting and comms going, but wouldnt operate the compressor to start main engines (air start diesels). After 15 minutes, we dropped both anchors, as we were drifiting closer towards the Goodwin sands and there was a possibility of running aground.
Turned out a water pipe had burst and flooded an electrical panel causing it to trip out and not reset as it was waterlogged. Cant start engines without compressors. Cant start compressors without generators. Cant start generators without electrical panel. Proper FUBARed. Eventually a brave sparky adorned in wellies and rubber gloves used a mop handle to forcibly hold the breakers open while generators and compressors were started. Took about 20 minutes to bring everything back online.
Normally the compressors recharged the air tank in port while loading and restarting the main engines so quickly after sailing wasnt considered before. New SOPs were quickly drafted to ensure air tanks were recharged immediately after main engine starts in future.
Given class rules require start air receivers to have capacity for several main engine starts this does tend to indicate slack engine room procedure or standing orders being routinely ignored.Turned out a water pipe had burst and flooded an electrical panel causing it to trip out and not reset as it was waterlogged. Cant start engines without compressors. Cant start compressors without generators. Cant start generators without electrical panel. Proper FUBARed. Eventually a brave sparky adorned in wellies and rubber gloves used a mop handle to forcibly hold the breakers open while generators and compressors were started. Took about 20 minutes to bring everything back online.
Normally the compressors recharged the air tank in port while loading and restarting the main engines so quickly after sailing wasnt considered before. New SOPs were quickly drafted to ensure air tanks were recharged immediately after main engine starts in future.
808 Estate said:
Simpo Two said:
Why did the diesel engines stop? Once running they don't need electricity.
Should have had a back-up panel.
All the monitoring systems stopped monitoring due to lack of electricity. Engines went into shutdown. Should have had a back-up panel.
Generally main switchboards arent duplicated.
Krikkit said:
That is scary, good job someone was feeling brave enough!
I'm assuming the air start pressure for these diesels is pretty enormous hence it doesn't matter if you've got a smaller genset running, as long as it's below a certain level it's just not potent enough.
The compressors needed about 15 minutes to recharge the tanks.I'm assuming the air start pressure for these diesels is pretty enormous hence it doesn't matter if you've got a smaller genset running, as long as it's below a certain level it's just not potent enough.
Yes, the emergency genny is totally remote from the engine room. Its primary purpose is to keep the wheelhouse operational. It also provides reduced lighting throughout the ship and keeps the internal comms system working. Its not connected to any engine room systems
Edited by hidetheelephants on Thursday 25th March 10:21
Sailed the Suez Canal many times when in the merchant navy. Always an interesting day, including the 'FLY BOAC' ad hoarding literally in the middle of nowhere, and the 'Bum Boats' selling their wares by rope and a bucket. When it was closed following the 67 war we had to go around the Cape Of Good Hope, which added a week or so to the journey to and from Australia.
The journey from Durban to Freemantle was ten days at sea, the longest sector I have sailed.
The journey from Durban to Freemantle was ten days at sea, the longest sector I have sailed.
Here's a very basic question...
Does the canal have a current? Which way does it flow?
And if the boat is grounded - as in properly stuck isn't the flow of water restricted some what... why isn't it have a damn like effect? or is the boat still pretty much floating but just stuck at both ends?
Does the canal have a current? Which way does it flow?
And if the boat is grounded - as in properly stuck isn't the flow of water restricted some what... why isn't it have a damn like effect? or is the boat still pretty much floating but just stuck at both ends?
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