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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Networkn
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#2682499 29-Mar-2021 13:40

SaltyNZ:

networkn:

I'm assuming he was actually joking. The Ecological cost of sinking that boat, let alone dropping containers off the side, would be immense and likely cause other issues.

Well yeah, if you think it's hard to shift a stuck container ship that's actually still floating, one that's broken in half and sunk is going to be ... more challenging.

Indeed. My Gut feeling was that as soon as they knew it was properly stuck, they should have been offloading those containers immediately. Not a lot of downside to it relatively.

It's easy to sit here from the sidelines with absolutely no expertise and pass judgement though :)

eracode

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#2682500 29-Mar-2021 13:41

SaltyNZ:

networkn:

Have they worked out how much lighter they need to make it to refloat it?

I heard they were planning to pump out all the bunker fuel and refill the tanks with butane.

You know, because butane is a lighter fluid.

I heard they’re going to refill the tanks with helium. They originally thought of hydrogen but that idea bombed.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Bung

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#2682549 29-Mar-2021 14:39

tripper1000:
gzt: Any reason they are not using heavy lift choppers to take a few containers off the top? Slow as but they seem to have the time.

Uneconomic and impractical.

A CH-53 costs USD$20,000 per hour to run (according to Wikipedia). Thats $3.3 million per week if you are/could operate 24 hours a day. The salvage could cost more that the cargo recovered. Better just to tip the containers into the canal, drag them out and throw away the contents. It wouldn't take long before it is more economic to buy a huge crane that would do more work anyway (and is what their plan C seems to be).

The latest in the CH-53 line the King Stallion has an external load hook rating - 36,000 lb (16,329 kg). Typical 20' containers are 18 -22,000 kg max 30,000 kg. Quoted maintenance for CH-53 is 44 hrs per hour of flight time (doesn't mention whether that is man hours or time for whole service crew)

There were only 2 Russian helicopters that could lift loaded containers and both are in museums.

It seems a race against time. The height of the tides will be going down in a couple of days.

Varkk

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#2682575 29-Mar-2021 15:48

networkn:

Indeed. My Gut feeling was that as soon as they knew it was properly stuck, they should have been offloading those containers immediately. Not a lot of downside to it relatively.

It's easy to sit here from the sidelines with absolutely no expertise and pass judgement though :)

But how would they unload it? They need to get the equipment on site and set up. All that takes time. It isn't as if there are cranes of the required size just sitting around waiting. That is assuming a crane could reach many of the containers from shore. Then there are the engineering issues as to if the ground could support it etc. The next option would be a floating crane but once again the time to source a suitable one and get it in position. They are probably working on that in the background but it will possibly be a week or two to get something done. As for breaking up the ship or dropping the cargo over the side, congratulations you have gone from one big blockage in one spot to multiple moving hazards which could keep affecting shipping for years to come.

frankv

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#2682578 29-Mar-2021 15:59

Varkk:

As for breaking up the ship or dropping the cargo over the side, congratulations you have gone from one big blockage in one spot to multiple moving hazards which could keep affecting shipping for years to come.

Yeah, blowing up the ship was tongue in cheek, hence my reference to the exploding whale.

But the containers over the side might work... you know exactly how many of them there are, and where they landed, and there's not a lot of current. So they should be relatively easy (as compared to containers lost in the ocean) to find and retrieve.

Ge0rge

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#2682639 29-Mar-2021 16:17

Not sure how you envisage 40t+ just being "dropped" over the side - there's nothing on board that is going to be able to push that weight, and the risk of one hitting the side of the ship when it hits that water is huge - imagine the issues if the hull was holed while you were trying to make it lighter...

The splash would be most impressive though!

Batman

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#2682641 29-Mar-2021 16:25

I'm actually surprised it took this long for such a thing to happen. Watched a video that a captain was saying it takes a lot of skill and concentration to navigate the canal and it is so intense they have to navigate in pairs and have shorter shifts

msukiwi

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#2682642 29-Mar-2021 16:25

From Vessel Finder - looks like it has moved a bit!

Batman

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#2682646 29-Mar-2021 16:30

Hmm...

elpenguino

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#2682648 29-Mar-2021 16:36

msukiwi:

From Vessel Finder - looks like it has moved a bit!

They've finally started reading all the good ideas on GZ.

You're welcome :-)

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

msukiwi

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#2682663 29-Mar-2021 16:46

elpenguino:They've finally started reading all the good ideas on GZ.

I didn't even see the helium tanker arrive!

Scott3

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#2682681 29-Mar-2021 17:41

Confirmed. Ship unstuck.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/africa/300264869/ever-given-vessel-afloat-in-suez-canal-almost-a-week-after-running-aground

[edit] re the tracker image, the news this morning was that the tug boats were able to wag the ship from side to side through about 30 degrees.

Fred99

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#2682685 29-Mar-2021 17:51

Is that ship still stuck?

Sort of?

The footage seems to show the bow is still way high and grounded, but at least they've got the stern free.

Batman

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#2682781 29-Mar-2021 21:13

it's freed, and it needs to be set straight/in the correct positioning before it can move

Senecio

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#2682814 29-Mar-2021 23:09

Ge0rge: The splash would be most impressive though!

Reminds me of a documentary I watched many years ago about the building of a new US Naval aircraft carrier. They tested out the catapults by launching 10 tonne concrete blocks off the runway to simulate an F14 Tomcat takeoff. The splash was immense!

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