Container Ship Stuck in/Blocking Suez Canal, Mar 2021

[LadyL]

Although strong tides and winds complicated efforts, the tugboats managed to move the ship "30 degrees from left and right", said General Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

Footage posted on Twitter appeared to show the tugboats honking their horns to celebrate this small victory.

The SCA said in a statement that dredgers had so far shifted 27,000 cubic metres of sand to a depth of 18m (59ft).

Gen Rabie said on Sunday that although the vessel was still stuck there were "positive indicators" from the past two days' efforts.

"The rudder was not moving and it is now moving, the propeller is working now, there was no water underneath the bow, and now there is water under it, and yesterday there was a 4m (13ft) deviation in the bow and the stern," he told Egyptian state TV.


Suez Canal: Effort to refloat wedged container ship continues

https://twitter.com/MarioLeb79/status/1375897509302824962?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1375897509302824962|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56547383

 

[airportwoman]

The Suez Canal is not really a canal, because unlike the Panama Canal, it does not have locks. It's really just a giant artificial ditch.

 

[Inthedetails]

News station livestream (in Arabic) of attempts to free the ship:

 

[Betty P]

News station livestream (in Arabic) of attempts to free the ship:

It looks like its moving

 

[Yesiamapirate]

It looks like its moving

It looks a little list-y.

 

[Betty P]

It was geeing, then hawing, now geeing again.

What does gee and haw mean?

 

[Betty P]

It's free! Tug boats are leaving.

 

[Inthedetails]

It's free! Tug boats are leaving.

I thought the tugs moved because it didn't work and they will try again at next high tide. ??

I might be behind with the news.

jmo

EDITED TO ADD: Looking at the latest coverage, it looks FREE!

 

[Betty P]

I thought the tugs moved because it didn't work and they will try again at next high tide. ??

I might be behind with the news.

jmo

EDITED TO ADD: Looking at the latest coverage, it looks FREE!

Yes, it looked a little uncertain for a while. Those big ships appear to move so slowly, it almost looks like they're standing still. All the live reporting was in Arabic (?) so I couldn't understand anything.

Ever Given is FREED from Suez Canal in last-ditch attempt using supermoon king tide | Daily Mail Online

 

[Cryptic]

I'm surprised the companies who use and operate the canal have zero equipment to handle these kinds of situations. It also appears the canal hasn't been dredged in a long time. Poor maintenance and management.

Greed makes businesses short-sighted.

The canal is owned by the Egyptian government. Corruption is endemic in Egypt and this probably does impact canal operations.

At the same time, Egypt is a developing country and simply cannot afford to have the same level of "back ups to the back up" that are routine in developed nations.

As a result, they could well run the canal on the "mostly good enough" level. So far, it seems they are doing a pretty good job. 20,000 ships use the canal every year. So far, only one had gotten stuck due to a combination of size, weather, and perhaps just plain bad luck.

 

[Betty P]

The canal is owned by the Egyptian government. Corruption is endemic in Egypt and this probably does impact canal operations.

At the same time, Egypt is a developing country and simply cannot afford to have the same level of "back ups to the back up" that are routine in developed nations.

As a result, they could well run the canal on the "mostly good enough" level. So far, it seems they are doing a pretty good job. 20,000 ships use the canal every year. So far, only one had gotten stuck due to a combination of size, weather, and perhaps just plain bad luck.

They should charge more for the ships passing through to pay for updates and maintenance. The canal should be self-sustaining. I hope they can work something out.

 

[Herat]

A one-way passage through the Suez Canal costs $300,000 for a large ship such as the Ever Given.

Egypt increasing the fee will only get passed along to the consumer, especially in the price of oil

I had read there was thought of building a second, parallel canal.

 

[Inthedetails]

A one-way passage through the Suez Canal costs $300,000 for a large ship such as the Ever Given.

Egypt increasing the fee will only get passed along to the consumer, especially in the price of oil

I had read there was thought of building a second, parallel canal.

The expense of building a second canal will be passed along to the consumer no matter how it is initially funded, imo.

 

[Herat]

It was geeing, then hawing, now geeing again.

What does gee and haw mean?

Nautical terms are pitch and yaw.

 

[Herat]

It's definitely free!

It's now just entering the Great Bitter Lake, apparently under it's own power at 6.2 knotts/ hr. There are two tugs ahead of it. I can't tell if they are assisting or just returning to port.

I love the Marinetraffic website ! So amazing to see all the ships all over the globe

 

[Herat]

And a cargo ship and a livestock carrier are underway departing south from thr Great Bitter Lake

 

[Laughing]

Nautical terms are pitch and yaw.

Gee & haw are 2 dimensional terms. Pitch, roll, and yaw are 3 dimensional -- airplanes & ships.

Ships & boats generally work to avoid pitch.



ymmv in canals, lrr and keep the barnacles off!

 

[LadyL]

From furniture to toilet paper, Canadians warned of shortages, price hikes amid trade logjams

 

[ZaZara]

pinched from twitter, author unknown

 

[Yesiamapirate]

pinched from twitter, author unknown