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

 

[TugboatEng]

It's still in the water in that picture.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

If you look at the Twitter pics they have some of it dry on blocks.

 

[LittleInch]

God that thing is ginourmous. The size of the people in that dry dock photo is telling...

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

 

[TugboatEng]

I was just trying to emphasize the extent of the damage, that it's visible above the waterline.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

I presumed they had it ballast way aft in the first pic.

I presume is a bit of an exercise getting something that big into a dry dock and getting it onto supports without damaging it further.

Especially when you want to cut a big chunk out the front and weld another big chunk back on.

Wonder what the aft is like.

 

[FacEngrPE]

Drydocking any ship is tedious. When setting the blocks, care with the measurements is essential. Threading the ship into the drydock often with a cross current is tricky, and then centering the ship on the blocks. The attachment talks about some of the back office work that goes into the docking plan.

The ever given really has minimal damage, It needs the bulb bow replaced, but the hull is not bent or twisted.

 

[AusG]

A lot of deformation and not a crack to be seen, at least at the scale of the photo. That has to be a good outcome.

 

[JohnRBaker]

We assume that the bow only made contact with the bottom/shore area, which hopefully was sand. The speed and momentum appears to have been sufficient to deform what I assume was the relatively thin-walled 'nose' (perhaps designed that way as a sort of 'crush zone'). Also, if I recall correctly, didn't they use some heavy equipment to try and remove enough of the shore around the bow to set the ship free? If so, perhaps some of the damage was from the equipment removing the sand.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-'Product Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[waross]

Attribution: By Jimpilch - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=103372148

Ferry tipped over in 1980 due to leak in dry dock.

"Oh shit. The blocks must have shifted as we brought her in. If we say that there was a leak in the drydock it may save our jobs."
Wiki Queen of Coquitlam

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

 

[AusG]

Once they've cut that damaged nose off they should sell it to the Suez authority to display prominently at the entry to the canal, as a warning to hasty seafarers.

 

[TugboatEng]

Blocking is fairly straightforward as every ship has a drydock plan. The plans are common enough the keel blocks are usually a permanent fixture of the dock. Ship bottoms are mostly flat, too.

In the photo Alistair linked the ship likely has no ballast. The draft is minimal at the bow. The engine and machinery are biased to the rear.

Tugboats are challenging because we don't operate on an even keel and our boats don't often have much capability to ballast. They charge a premium to build an angled block arrangement.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Interesting thanks...

 

[TugboatEng]

The ship does need to be precisely placed over the blocks as they need to align with frames. Figure there is about a 2 foot window to land on. Divers will be in the dock to verify position. The ship is positioned with winches in the dock.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

Will they have to do anything special to deal with the damage?

What's inside that bulb?

Is there a normal bow under it and that's more of a fairing than structural. Although if it survived getting rammed into the shore at 13 knots it must be pretty solid.

 

[AusG]

Divers will be in the dock to verify position....there's a caught-between you don't want to think about...

 

[TugboatEng]

They will build the new section of the ship as new and just cut the old off and replace. We only use crop and renew as bending it back leaves residual stresses.

Here is an example of a deficient hull structure that was cut out and replaced:

Too pic is new structure bottom pic is old.

 

[dik]

From the news:

https://www.thenationalnews.com/men...z-canal-as-ever-given-container-ship-returns/

"Egyptian authorities declared a state of emergency on Sunday as Ever Given, the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March, returned to the waterway with a full load, heading to Rotterdam from China.

The 400-metre Panama-registered vessel arrived in Suez just after midnight on Saturday, where it was moored until it was given the signal to pass through the canal.

The Ever Given’s cargo this time is significantly heavier than it was when it ran aground in the canal and blocked maritime traffic in March, hitting shipping operators worldwide, according to Marwa Maher, a media representative for the Suez Canal Authority.

The state of emergency was declared to ensure a smooth passage for the massive vessel, which was passing fully loaded with cargo for the first time since the March incident, reported Egyptian state-owned daily Al Ahram on Saturday."

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

-Dik

 

[LionelHutz]

Nothing more than some posturing. Probably so they can hit them with another extra fee for allowing them to pass.

 

[waross]

As long as the local pilots stay off of the bridge, they have a good chance to make it through.

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

 

[dik]

...isn't that the truth.

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

-Dik