I think we are going to need a bigger digger.

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › I think we are going to need a bigger digger.

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#2680373 25-Mar-2021 13:42

Ge0rge: The midday news just said that the ship was re-floated and the canal was open again, although I can't actually find any evidence of this.

I think it is still stuck, ( its now 2.40 am in Egypt)

This is 2 hrs ago from from Leth Agencies, who describe themselves as "The leading ship and offshore agency in Egypt, since 1924"

@AgenciesLeth Re-floating operation has been temporarily suspended and will resume Thursday morning.

https://twitter.com/AgenciesLeth?s=20

they also note that

"Dredger Al Ashir (10th of Ramadan) is now alongside M/V EVER GIVEN in the #SuezCanal and dredger Mashor is expected to be alongside at any moment. In addition to tugs and dredgers a diving team has been assigned to the operation."

So are still trying to dig it out from whatever it is resting on...

Fred99

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#2680378 25-Mar-2021 13:48

networkn:

I'm assuming that it's not as simple as a dozen tugs pulling it backward from behind?

Might be a bit of a problem as there's not much room behind, the canal only has full depth in about the centre third and shallows up at the edges. It's probably stuck at both ends - from the looks of it just more well and truly stuck at the front end. It's fully loaded and you can see the plimsoll line marked on the bow is well and truly grounded, confirmed from from side shots - the bow is several metres higher then the stern.

This cross section from a chart of the canal shows the problem (though this may not be the exact spot) , max depth in the middle is 24 metres, the ship draws 16 metres, the ship is more than twice the length of the width of the channel, and it's wedged at about a 45 degree angle. Note the channel markers are set at 9 metre depth, still 7 metres too shallow for that boat.

I have no idea what they can do, seems tricky. Unloading the containers might help, but there are many thousands of them, and no relatively quick overhead container crane or way to get one there, so that would probably be a very slow process.

Edit - just saw post above re dredges. They "probably" have vacuum dredges for routine canal dredging anyway, a bit like giant wet vaccuum cleaners with booms that can probably suck holes out just where they need them. Probably still slow-ish, because as they suck out a hole, it'll tend to fill itself up.

networkn

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#2680380 25-Mar-2021 13:55

That's quite a problem, especially with shipping already delayed due to C19. An analyst I know of predicts severe shortages of product later in the year. We are seeing delays already in computers of 3+ months.

When/if it starts to hit Grocery products, things might start to get hairy.

wellygary

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#2680394 25-Mar-2021 14:05

networkn:

That's quite a problem, especially with shipping already delayed due to C19. An analyst I know of predicts severe shortages of product later in the year. We are seeing delays already in computers of 3+ months.

When/if it starts to hit Grocery products, things might start to get hairy.

Its a much bigger problem for Europe, as its the quick way to/From Asia,

For us its the flow on of Box (container) and ship disruptions, (

If this looks longer than a week, I think you will see more Panama Transits as that becomes the only real way between the Atlantic and the Pacific

BUT new Panamax vessels top out at something like 15K TEU... these Ultras at 20K+ simply will have to take the long way round.... Its not good for Global supply chains

Fred99

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#2680397 25-Mar-2021 14:07

networkn:

That's quite a problem, especially with shipping already delayed due to C19. An analyst I know of predicts severe shortages of product later in the year. We are seeing delays already in computers of 3+ months.

When/if it starts to hit Grocery products, things might start to get hairy.

Not much cargo to/from here would go through the Suez, but yeah - the backlog effect could affect us.

Even some basic commodities have run short here. Supermarkets had been out of cornflour for weeks, a shipment must have arrived as I managed to buy some yesterday.

frankv

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#2680487 25-Mar-2021 15:22

msukiwi:

Ge0rge: The midday news just said that the ship was re-floated and the canal was open again, although I can't actually find any evidence of this.

Wrong: Current position as of now from Vesselfinder.com

Not looking good for "Svitzer Port Said 2".

msukiwi

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#2680492 25-Mar-2021 15:29

frankv:Not looking good for "Svitzer Port Said 2".

That's what I thought too!

wellygary

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#2680547 25-Mar-2021 15:44

msukiwi:

frankv:Not looking good for "Svitzer Port Said 2".

That's what I thought too!

Shame.... Its a nice looking tug ... :)

https://www.bairdmaritime.com/work-boat-world/tug-and-salvage-world/vessel-review-svitzer-port-said-1-svitzer-port-said-2-multi-purpose-tug-pair-for-rapidly-growing-port-said/

frankv

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#2680552 25-Mar-2021 15:51

Fred99:

the ship is more than twice the length of the width of the channel, and it's wedged at about a 45 degree angle. Note the channel markers are set at 9 metre depth, still 7 metres too shallow for that boat.

Your geometry needs some work. If the ship's length is more than twice the width of the channel, it can't be more than 30 degrees (unless it extends beyond the channel).

I was wondering what the currents are in the canal... presumably the front of the ship is driven into the side, and the rear is pushed against the other side by the current. But according to Wikipedia, at the ship's location that should reverse with the tides. But presumably also the tide rises and lowers at the ship's position, so for a fair amount of the time it's not worth trying to move it.

The Suez Cana contains no locks; seawater flows freely through it. In general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. South of the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez.

MikeB4

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#2680557 25-Mar-2021 16:04

This might do it😄

networkn

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#2680558 25-Mar-2021 16:04

MikeB4:

This might do it😄

Not unless you want to cut that boat into small pieces to remove it from the canal.

wellygary

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#2680563 25-Mar-2021 16:14

frankv:

I was wondering what the currents are in the canal... presumably the front of the ship is driven into the side, and the rear is pushed against the other side by the current. But according to Wikipedia, at the ship's location that should reverse with the tides. But presumably also the tide rises and lowers at the ship's position, so for a fair amount of the time it's not worth trying to move it.

According to this paper tides are not huge, and Wind and atmospheric pressure are also big factors

https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/ihr/article/download/23768/27541/

Fred99

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#2680620 25-Mar-2021 18:52

frankv:

Your geometry needs some work. If the ship's length is more than twice the width of the channel, it can't be more than 30 degrees (unless it extends beyond the channel).

I was wondering what the currents are in the canal... presumably the front of the ship is driven into the side, and the rear is pushed against the other side by the current. But according to Wikipedia, at the ship's location that should reverse with the tides. But presumably also the tide rises and lowers at the ship's position, so for a fair amount of the time it's not worth trying to move it.

The Suez Cana contains no locks; seawater flows freely through it. In general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. South of the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez.

My geometery probably isn't that far out, the "channel" as far as that boat's concerned is only the deep centre part, the canal is much wider. So yes - where it's sitting it extends way beyond the channel by a lot - the bow is hard up against the bank. But as I mentioned, I just grabbed a random part of the chart, and it "looks" about 45 deg give or take based on how it shows up on marine tracking sites, and photos.

According to an article I read, the tide in that part of the canal is only 1/2 metre, but I guess every inch helps, even with a 220,000 tonne ship.

I like the idea of the dredges, sounds like a good challenge, I think they should be able to get it free. I went for a look on the Dunedin dredge "New Era" when it was working here. Was great fun, especially when they open up the hull and drop lord knows how many thousands of tonnes of mud etc in a couple of seconds. The whole ship rises out of the water, probably only 3 metres, maybe more, but gives the impression it's about to launch into the sky. https://photos.marinetraffic.com/ais/showphoto.aspx?shipid=698934&size=thumb600