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Navigation Closure Notice. Suez Canal


Jennifer McM

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2 hours ago, NB Alnwick said:

I have heard stories of the Egyptian Pilots being asleep on the job - it ought to take more than a sand storm and 30 mph wind to turn such a large vessel 90 degrees.

No doubt we shall learn in due course what really happened . . .

There was mention earlier that the vessel - one of the worlds largest container ships -suffered a blackout, and if she was powerless a 30 knot wind would be more than enough to induce a sheer which in the canal with a vessel that size would have been too quick to give time to drop an anchor before she hit the bank.The pictures indeed show both anchors still in the pipe.

 

Howard

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2 hours ago, NB Alnwick said:

I have heard stories of the Egyptian Pilots being asleep on the job - it ought to take more than a sand storm and 30 mph wind to turn such a large vessel 90 degrees.

No doubt we shall learn in due course what really happened . . .

I bet someone is now regretting paying attention to a mobile phone call just as the wind picked up

 

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15 minutes ago, howardang said:

There was mention earlier that the vessel - one of the worlds largest container ships -suffered a blackout, and if she was powerless a 30 knot wind would be more than enough to induce a sheer which in the canal with a vessel that size would have been too quick to give time to drop an anchor before she hit the bank.The pictures indeed show both anchors still in the pipe.

 

Howard

And look at the area of those containers.  A gentle breeze would exert a huge force.

 

N

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35 minutes ago, howardang said:

There was mention earlier that the vessel - one of the worlds largest container ships -suffered a blackout, and if she was powerless a 30 knot wind would be more than enough to induce a sheer which in the canal with a vessel that size would have been too quick to give time to drop an anchor before she hit the bank.The pictures indeed show both anchors still in the pipe.

 

Howard

This is what happens when someone installs one of those cheap and nasty battery isolator switches with the red handles.

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Interesting to note that the bow is in Asia and the stern is in Africa!

 

As of now she is still stuck fast and by the time it refloats the number of ships held up will be substantial. It is going to cost a fortune as a result of delays to shipping and lost income to the Suez Canal Authority. It will undoubtedly give lots of employment to lawyers. 


Howard

 

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21 minutes ago, Dav and Pen said:

Initially they claimed engine problems. These huge ships are proving to be a bit if a liability. 2000 containers overboard so far this year. Number of engine problems including fires and now a 30mph wind blows one up the bank.

 

Is there a valid reason why these big ships don't have 2 or more engines? Cost I suppose. The benefit of having a spare power unit  on line would be very great in a situation like this. I would think they would not use much power anyway going up the cut.

As regards flushing the ship but can't because there's no locks- i understand that when the canal was opened it caused a permanent eastwards current at the western end of the Med and it's draining the Atlantic  into the Indian Ocean, so if the ships stuck there for a while , the water level will be raised on the upstream side of the ship and it might float off?

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47 minutes ago, billh said:

Is there a valid reason why these big ships don't have 2 or more engines? Cost I suppose. The benefit of having a spare power unit  on line would be very great in a situation like this. I would think they would not use much power anyway going up the cut.

As regards flushing the ship but can't because there's no locks- i understand that when the canal was opened it caused a permanent eastwards current at the western end of the Med and it's draining the Atlantic  into the Indian Ocean, so if the ships stuck there for a while , the water level will be raised on the upstream side of the ship and it might float off?

 

Its definitely cost.  After the initial purchase of these monsters, it is fuel that is by far their largest operating cost.  And, believe it or not, the shipping industry is extremely competitive.  Another engine and additional fuel would pretty much put them out of business.  Fortunately these type of incidents are extremely rare.

Edited by Rebotco
the d fell off and.
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These engines are the size of a small house . This size of ship has engines of around 100000 hp. The vast majority of merchant ships have single engine and prop as this is the most economical way of moving the things. Once they are off the berth there is very little maneuvering until they reach the destination when tugs assist the engine is set to the revs needed to maintain the speed course plotted and auto pilot engaged. Notice is given hours before any change is likely so the crew can stand by.

Modern cruise liners have adopted the azimuth system of combined prop and rudder as they need to be able to maneuver without assistance at a different port each day.

Photo from G. captain

151B5F3F-CF9D-429B-B97D-1BFB30F82AC6.jpeg

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58 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Not sure the digger is man enough for this......

ExUQAqlXIAY0u_1.png

 

Someone pushing from the deck with a boat pole isn't going to work either. It will just sink in to the sand. A shame that Egyptian Sustrans haven't upgraded the towpath with tarmac to give something solid to push against.

 

1 hour ago, Dav and Pen said:

These engines are the size of a small house . This size of ship has engines of around 100000 hp. The vast majority of merchant ships have single engine and prop as this is the most economical way of moving the things. Once they are off the berth there is very little maneuvering until they reach the destination when tugs assist the engine is set to the revs needed to maintain the speed course plotted and auto pilot engaged. Notice is given hours before any change is likely so the crew can stand by.

Modern cruise liners have adopted the azimuth system of combined prop and rudder as they need to be able to maneuver without assistance at a different port each day.

Photo from G. captain

151B5F3F-CF9D-429B-B97D-1BFB30F82AC6.jpeg

 

Paint it green and it would look just like my Beta 43. ?

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1 hour ago, matty40s said:

Not sure the digger is man enough for this......

ExUQAqlXIAY0u_1.png

I would agree but it seems to have made some progress in  moving the sand from one place to another.

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It's starting to take on the appearance of Foxton locks on a busy bank holiday. (It even has the crossover pound in the middle.)

 

 

Suez canal.JPG

Edited by The Happy Nomad
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