Suez canal blocked

[Josh]

It is such a thorough cluster fuck you have to wonder if it was intentional.

[Ivanhoe]

So along with the impact of COVID on economies, now add multimodal shipping calamity.

I would bet on plain old incompetence, there are countless Youtube videos of commercial shipping doing stupid things. Definitely a Resume Generating Event for the captain and bridge crew. 

I've always worried about a similar event in the Hampton Roads part of the Chesapeake. During the Cold War it had to have been tempting for the Soviets to sink a big cargo ship in the main channel going to Norfolk Naval Base. These days, its the commercial shipping to/from Norfolk and Baltimore, and naval and commercial ships badly needing work at the yards.

Somebody told me the USN had plans for dealing with a channel blockage, but still worrisome.

 

[Josh]

I think it probably has to be an accident, but damn, how do you fuck up that badly? Side slipped to cross the whole fucking canal? The only reason I don't think it is intentional is that someone had to pay for all the stuff in those containers, and that can't be cheap. If it was a bulk carrier filled with cement I'd probably have a different opionion.

But wow, when was the last time the Suez was blocked, '73?

[Stuart Galbraith]

One news item Ive just read blamed an electrical blackout, whilst the same report quoted an Egyptian who said it was the result of a very strong wind in the area. Considering the sail area on a container ship, that does actually sound more plausible.

[JasonJ]

Over reliance on cheap labour for crews might be a factor.

[RETAC21]

2 hours ago, JasonJ said:

Over reliance on cheap labour for crews might be a factor.

Ships that size are too expensive to be left to sloppy labor

[JasonJ]

4 minutes ago, RETAC21 said:

Ships that size are too expensive to be left to sloppy labor

Whenever there's a ship incident be it Iranian captured or some accident or lost at sea, the crew is typically Filipino or Indian with one or two Russians.. that sort of make up. Seems to never be British, American, Japanese, etc.

[Stuart Galbraith]

 

[Ivanhoe]

 

[Mighty_Zuk]

The Suez canal is naturally prone to such incidents because it is so narrow.

Israel is making big bucks by allowing oil tankers to drop it off via pipe and have it collected by a ship on the other side.

Next step is probably a freight oriented railroad.

Egypt would be foolish not to explore such possibilities for itself.

[Stuart Galbraith]

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Stuart Galbraith
Damn, someone best me to it

[RETAC21]

 

10 minutes ago, Mighty_Zuk said:

The Suez canal is naturally prone to such incidents because it is so narrow.

Israel is making big bucks by allowing oil tankers to drop it off via pipe and have it collected by a ship on the other side.

Next step is probably a freight oriented railroad.

Egypt would be foolish not to explore such possibilities for itself.

Egypt has a pipeline connecting the Red Sea to Alexandria (IIRC) but I would guess it's already booked when the blockage happened.

[DB]

If you can find it, prior tracking data on at least one AIS website may be instructive. Look as far back as the Horn of Africa.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Kinda illustrates the immensity of the problem.

 

[cbo]

Apparently a combination of a light load and strong wind.

The photo in Stuarts last post reminded me of the days when the Lindø Værft in Odense Fjord still built containerships for the Mærsk shipping company. In order to get from the fiord into open water, the ships had to pass a place called "Gabet" - probably best translated as the Jaws. Seeing the giant ships go through there was really something....

 

[EchoFiveMike]

4 hours ago, RETAC21 said:

Ships that size are too expensive to be left to sloppy labor

You'd think that, and you'd be wrong.  The transportation industry is a giant race to the bottom of the slops bucket.  S/F....Ken M

[Ivanhoe]

17 minutes ago, EchoFiveMike said:

You'd think that, and you'd be wrong.  The transportation industry is a giant race to the bottom of the slops bucket.  S/F....Ken M

Never overestimate the intelligence of professional management.

 

[Ivanhoe]

1 hour ago, cbo said:

Apparently a combination of a light load and strong wind.

The photo in Stuarts last post reminded me of the days when the Lindø Værft in Odense Fjord still built containerships for the Mærsk shipping company. In order to get from the fiord into open water, the ships had to pass a place called "Gabet" - probably best translated as the Jaws. Seeing the giant ships go through there was really something....

 

 

 

Dang, you could hand buckets and paintbrushes to the people on shore and give it a touchup.

[RETAC21]

36 minutes ago, EchoFiveMike said:

You'd think that, and you'd be wrong.  The transportation industry is a giant race to the bottom of the slops bucket.  S/F....Ken M

I know, but big companies still try to get people that know their stuff and this is the case, the ship management agency is German. As you go down the totem pole, piracy is alive and well.

[Stuart Galbraith]

I think a far bigger problem are broken ships. There were some ships, even owned by American owners, that were built in WW2 and still aiming in the 1980s.

This one dated from 1975, over 45 years old, and from other footage I've seen online was clearly life expired. Unfortunately nobody pointed that out to the owners.

It's not even a new problem. I think Lloyds of London and British politicians were complaining about it as far back as the 1830's.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Stuart Galbraith

[RETAC21]

18 minutes ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

I think a far bigger problem are broken ships. There were some ships, even owned by American owners, that were built in WW2 and still aiming in the 1980s.

This one dated from 1975, over 45 years old, and from other footage I've seen online was clearly life expired. Unfortunately nobody pointed that out to the owners.

It's not even a new problem. I think Lloyds of London and British politicians were complaining about it as far back as the 1830's.

EVER GIVEN (IMO: 9811000) is a Container Ship that was built in 2018 (3 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Panama.

This is as good a ship as you can find, but shit happens.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Indeed, but it depends on how well she was build or maintained. If that allegation of an electrical blackout has any validity, there is some serious questions going to be asked about how that can happen in a 3 year old ship.

The accident report on this is going to require a big bag of popcorn.

[lucklucky]

That broken back can be bad loading.

[Stuart Galbraith]

There was a really good video online describing the incident. Bad loading might have helped, but looking at video of her below the waterline, her frames were heavily eroded. It was basically a river barge, 45 years old, that was operating in a bad sea. Sooner or later her age caught up with her. Even the Beirut explosion can be traced back to a poorly maintained, aging vessel. There was nothing wrong with the crew in either case, it was just bad condition, out of date ships that someone else ended up paying the price for.

From CNN last night, there was an allegation Ever Given (nevergiving?)   ran aground in a bad sandstorm. So was it a loss of visibility, was it wind blowing her against the shore, did the navigation system fail? I still wouldnt bet against equipment or mechanical failure.

[Mighty_Zuk]

22 hours ago, RETAC21 said:

 

Egypt has a pipeline connecting the Red Sea to Alexandria (IIRC) but I would guess it's already booked when the blockage happened.

I was referring more to a railroad for anything other than oil.