Suez blocked by stuck ship!

[Petrus1983]

MercScot said:

Google 'Archimedes principle', all will be clear!

I hope this doesn’t sound stupid - but is that why when you’re onshore next to these giants leaving port it sometimes looks like the tides going out?

[Dark85]

outnumbered said:

At what point is it worth the ships in the queue giving up and going round Africa?

What if you in the Indian Ocean heading that way, do they just carry on and hope it's clear by the time they get there or turn southwest and go round. I guess it depends how quickly they can get back to normal operatios once it's clear as much as how long to clear. How much spare capacity is there in the canal to clear through the backlog? Would anyone even be thinking about it at this point?

[Petrus1983]

Dark85 said:

outnumbered said:

At what point is it worth the ships in the queue giving up and going round Africa?

What if you in the Indian Ocean heading that way, do they just carry on and hope it's clear by the time they get there or turn southwest and go round. I guess it depends how quickly they can get back to normal operatios once it's clear as much as how long to clear. How much spare capacity is there in the canal to clear through the backlog? Would anyone even be thinking about it at this point?

I’d be thinking about it and probably doing it - that route seems very busy today and the backlog at the Suez is growing quickly.

[hidetheelephants]

dr_gn said:

Maybe been asked before, but instead of pissing about with tug boats, why don't they just tie it to the next massive containers ship back, shove it in reverse, and pull it out with that?

Ships don't steer worth a damn going backward until they're going at several knots so there's very good odds it would bury itself into the canal bank, if that didn't happen then once steerage is achieved the centre of rotation would likely result in the canal bank being bothered by the other end.

Tye Green said:

it seems that water level is about 18m which doesn't sound much to support a 200,000 ton ship?

You could float 200,000 tonnes in 18mm of water if the design was right.

[Evoluzione]

Simpo Two said:

outnumbered said:

At what point is it worth the ships in the queue giving up and going round Africa?

You can imagine all the captains thinking 'bks, must be an accident, wonder if there's another way?' and tapping 'Alternative route' into their satnavs...

In reality the issue may be fuel. But there could be opportunities for small boats to go round selling burgers and hot dogs...

For those that are there now it'll add 3 weeks to the journey, for those in China coming to Europe avoiding it adds a week.

[thegreenhell]

Petrus1983 said:

I’d be thinking about it and probably doing it - that route seems very busy today and the backlog at the Suez is growing quickly.

Somali pirates must be rubbing their hands at all the bounty just sitting there offshore.

[aeropilot]

Simpo Two said:

outnumbered said:

At what point is it worth the ships in the queue giving up and going round Africa?

You can imagine all the captains thinking 'bks, must be an accident, wonder if there's another way?' and tapping 'Alternative route' into their satnavs...

In reality the issue may be fuel.

Yes.
And lots of it.

But then, there will be a point when time=money, and if they end up sitting for two weeks in the gulf it will be more expensive than the 10 days or so of fuel oil it takes to sail around the horn.
At some point someone is going to have to say, its going to take us a week, 10 day, 2 weeks, months to clear this, and until then they'll sit there waiting in the queue.

[tonyvid]

Petrus1983 said:

I’d be thinking about it and probably doing it - that route seems very busy today and the backlog at the Suez is growing quickly.

What a lot of ships!!

[PushedDover]

tonyvid said:

Petrus1983 said:

I’d be thinking about it and probably doing it - that route seems very busy today and the backlog at the Suez is growing quickly.

What a lot of ships!!

is it over an ocean you also realise.

[mcdjl]

thegreenhell said:

or get one of them to do a handbrake turn next to it, and use the wave that creates to re-float it.

and so on down the line until theres enough space one doesn't get stuck!

[Blackpuddin]

B4rnst4ble said:

Blackpuddin said:

Could giant inflatables have a part to play in this, as used (I think) in raising wrecks from the seabed, or is that daft/unworkable physics?

I have one I could let them have only use it for a few weeks a year not sure how it will help though

I think you should send it over, if only to cheer people up.
Loving the ship camel idea mentioned earlier too. Does it come with a toe?

Edited by Blackpuddin on Thursday 25th March 16:54

[Simpo Two]

aeropilot said:

Simpo Two said:

In reality the issue may be fuel.

Yes.
And lots of it.

Not just the cost but I was wondering if they have enough on board to do it - they may only load what they need for each trip.

[Clive-sz8cz]

thegreenhell said:

Well you wouldn't want the front to fall off.

Great sketch

[Slackline]

Clive-sz8cz said:

thegreenhell said:

Well you wouldn't want the front to fall off.

Great sketch

That's not very typical, though.

[bunchofkeys]

Any confirmation as to what type of fuel it was using. For example the VLSFO (Frankenstein fuel), which seems to be a bit of a bugger on ship engines, which may have cause the sudden power outage?

[peterperkins]

If they attach stout enough hawsers to the container ship in front of it and the one behind it at each end of GreenTree and then they pull in opposite directions won't it straighten out like a piece of wet string.

[Krikkit]

bunchofkeys said:

Any confirmation as to what type of fuel it was using. For example the VLSFO (Frankenstein fuel), which seems to be a bit of a bugger on ship engines, which may have cause the sudden power outage?

I don't think so - that class was outfitted with exhaust scubbers, so I assume they're not using it.

[Seight_Returns]

How are they managing the ships already in the canal and queued up behind - without themselves running aground ?

I find holding station in a 30 foot yacht queuing for the lock at Chi Marina a challenge - doing it in a single screw 100k ton container ship with huge windage that doesn't answer the helm at less than 5 knots must be very difficult.

[andy_s]

Wasn't this a war gamed scenario? I seem to remember there was some planning for an attack on a boat in the Suez. It's a fairly strategic route in a ticklish area.

[robuk]

some great images from space