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

 

[Fischstabchen]

Can someone explain to me what there weren't contingency plans for an event like this? Or are there? I am really confused as how important the canal is to shipping that everything stopped for almost a week. Wars are fought over control of the canal.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Apparently safety shear pins were replaced by concrete Re bars and they went for it with the scope that the tugs were written off. The US navy contingent wanted to use bang both ends. One load on the bottom to drop the back the other to blow the rock (the dutchies told them to foxtrot oscar)

Quiet looking forward to the next time he is in the Kiwi bar to hear what actually went on.

 

[Spartan5]

Short of putting in a second canal running parallel to this one, what possible contingency plan could they have in place?

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

they are trying to do that and there is a lot of political issues over it.

The USA is trying to prevent it. Global politics

 

[dik]

Waiting for the book to come out...

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

-Dik

 

[TugboatEng]

Tugboat escorts for ships over a certain size would be the obvious answer but a 6 knot speed limit would be required for that case.

Alistair, there are no shear safety pins on towing gear and tugs are typically rates to operate at 100% capacity. Towing gear on ocean going vessels usually has a safety factor of 3. Damage to the ship is quite possible, though.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

If even 10% of the chat of aviation or the marine guys ever goes public it will be horrendous. By the sounds of it the marine guys get away with murder being miles way from shore and only working in 2D and they can just stop most of the time.

I have seen pictures of wraps of rebars through holes in hook couples I might not be using the right terminology. But there is a pin through the hook couple that will fail before the thing rips out the deck, That calibrated pin is gone on the release. It was a bundle of rebar.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

I really don't claim to have any special knowledge personally, I am just getting pictures and updates off a unlimited master qualified Danish skipper that deals with international salvage that's also Rotterdam qualified pilot.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

he is also an ex Danish EOD clearance diver aged 55 but stopped swimming 20 years ago.

 

[FacEngrPE]

Suez Canal North and South Ship Traffic for 9 Days During the Crisis

EVER GIVEN Suez Canal Traffic Recovery 24h Live Tracking Stream by FleetMon

Giant Suez Canal ship freed | DW News

The time constrained drama is mostly over.

 

[LittleInch]

Alistair, If there was anything like you describe it can only be that they were trying some shock tactics by driving the tugs fast in a slack line so generating shock loading.

Just steady pulling wouldn't generate enough force.

Any thoughts Tug?


Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[TugboatEng]

The ship has too much inertia. There is nothing to gain by shocking it, just broken gear. I spent an hour swinging my 25lb hammer to try to push a 200lb pin out of our crane the other week. I finally gave up and rigged up the jack. The pin pushed out with only 10 tons. The 25lb hammer easily achieves that force but could not overcome the inertia.

 

[SwinnyGG]

Are you saying then that the static line pull from the tugs is enough to tear up all the gear?

I know nothing about these systems, but for a relatively modern ship design of that size it would come as a surprise to me if any old tug could just hook up and start ripping parts of the ship off.

 

[TugboatEng]

The tug's gear should be able to withstand it's static line pull with a safety factor of 3.

Modern ships are built to be cheap. Class society rules make it difficult to operate ships that are over 30 years of age so they have to be disposable.


The only strong attachment points on are modern ships are the anchor windlasses. All other bits are intended for mooring and are sized accordingly. The maximum rating is usually 100 ton (coincidentally we operate the most powerful ship assist tug on the USA west coast at 96 tons on a straight pull). Only tankers over a certain size will get a "super bit" on their stern. These require a 10ft eye so we keep a special strap for when we need to attach to super bits.

 

[waross]

If the ship went up on a rock, the rock likely punctured some compartments. That would explain the difficulty in freeing the ship.
The rock would have been stuck in the hole that it made and it would not be a matter of simple friction.
Either the rock would have to be moved, and if it was large enough to seriously compromise a ship of that size, it would not move easily.
The other option would be for the rock to rip through plating and do more damage.
Either way a lot more force would be needed to free the ship than if it were just buried in the mud and sand.
There were some reports of flooding in some forward compartments, that would be consistent with the rock puncturing the hull.

Tug, inertia or sticktion?

Bill
--------------------
Ohm's law
Not just a good idea;
It's the LAW!

 

[RedSnake]

According to Alistairs inside report But the hull is sound which has surprised everyone they expect it to self power to Rotterdam then it might not even need dry dock.
As I sade before I am not shore what kinds of rocks they have in that region but if it was something like a sand or limestone.
It would not be the same as hitting a granit boulder or even worse a lava one.
I would think that the keel would have made a groove in the rock and they could not back the ship out since the stern was against the canal wall, they hade to twist the ship and the boulder getting it of, or sucking the sand under the boulder away lowering it.

BR A


“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[hokie66]

Interested in Alistair's comment above about the US opposing the completion of the double laneing of the canal. Any source for that?

 

[1503-44]

Nothing from my internet search suggested even the smallest clue. I did find some indication that current shipping projections would not support the economics of the $10B project cost, but that was all I found.

The only reason I can imagine is that it might tend to lower the price of LNG and maybe a number of other things in Europe, thereby making US goods less competitive there. But that might make US goods more competitive in South and East Asia. Since that balances more or less, its LNG, and, or military concerns. ???

Are you a potential captain?
Run the canal game

 

[TugboatEng]

Waross, if it was strictly inertia, any amount of pull would eventually get it moving so there certainly had to be some stiction involved.

 

[RedSnake]

Tug
The ALP GUARD has
BOLLAND PULL 285 mt cont.
I guess cont. is continues
But was is mt ?
milli Ton
or milion Ton ????
What does it mean??

https://www.alpmaritime.com/fleet/alp-guard

Best Regards

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein