Suez Canal currently blocked (update - unblocked!)

The strategic implications of this are interesting. First thing I did on hearing about it was check Ever Given's nationality, and breathe a sigh of relief when she turned out to be Taiwanese, because a Chinese vessel blocking the canal could have been a set-up for something unpleasant in the Taiwan Strait. But the length of time she's taking to clear has to have people thinking about the possible uses of blockships in both PLAN and PACFLT headquarters.
 
On another note.
This is predicated on an average speed of 16 knots. So 9 days extra.
But I think some of the newer very large vessels have a higher cruising speed these days?

EDIT: Yes.
The Ever Given has a "service speed" of almost 23 knots, which I assume is its "usual" speed?
 

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DWG said:
The strategic implications of this are interesting. First thing I did on hearing about it was check Ever Given's nationality, and breathe a sigh of relief when she turned out to be Taiwanese, because a Chinese vessel blocking the canal could have been a set-up for something unpleasant in the Taiwan Strait. But the length of time she's taking to clear has to have people thinking about the possible uses of blockships in both PLAN and PACFLT headquarters.
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I would have thought people would have been thinking about the use of blockships for several decades....
 
kaiserbill said:
TomS said:
I'm sure container lines are planning a layover so their crews can stay in a 5-star hotel and hit the beach, when they're already two weeks behind schedule. The helicopter thing would be more likely, if the lines were actually willing to pay for a helicopter...
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It's actually a thing, and has been for decades.
Well over 50 years in fact.

The options have always been there to pull into the port of Cape Town, or replenish out in the roadstead in Table Bay by helicopter or ship, or replenish on the move whilst going around The Cape by helicopter. That includes passengers, freight, replenishment, etc.
There are chandlery companies in Cape Town that almost exclusively service that need.

Court Helicopters operated a large fleet of Sikorski S61 and S62 helicopters for decades, in a lucrative business, before being bought by CHC in 2000.
Ironically, they started diversifying into offshore replenishment due to the closure of the Suez Canal in 1967. Their first runs were with the Sikorski S-55, before they went for bigger machines. Court had, at one stage, about 30 airframes operating out of Cape Town and Durban.
The Canal has always been vulnerable to events.

Titan Helicopters operate a fleet which includes Sikorski S61, Sikorski S-76, Mil Mi-8, Kamov Ka-32, Augusta AW139, Bell, and Eurocopter helicopters.
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Don't see a Halo in that line-up.

Chris
 
Tangential, that Toyota 'just in time' model...

My employers' corporate decided it would be a really, really neat system.

I reminded our site's 'Designated Facilitator' that, unlike us, such companies relied on a swarm of sub-contractors sending small-stuff by little trucks & vans. And, big or small, those vans did not just turn up at gate at eg 08:32 per individual schedule, they travelled overnight then parked nearby, where drivers slept in cabs until due.

Given UK H&S regulations and, um, driver / cargo safety issues, this was not a viable logistics model for us...

What would I, a humble lab-rat, know about such ? But, credit where due, the guy checked. And, like the horrified Facilitators on our other sites, soon realised 'just in time' simply would not work for us. Plus, the Murphy factor, too many 'hostages to fortune'...

We joked that our grand 'Five Year Plans' had an ~18 month half-life: Thankfully, this one was still-born...
 
PMN1 said:
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I laughed like a an idiot. I'm surprised nobody made any Titanic memes so far...

Thomas Andrews : [perspiring and trembling] Water... fourteen feet above the keel in ten minutes. In the forepeak, in all three holds and in the boiler room six.

Ismay : When can we get underway, damnit!

Thomas Andrews : That's five compartments! She can stay afloat with the first four compartments breached, but not five!

[tersely to Smith]

Thomas Andrews : Not five. As she goes down by the head, the water will spill over the tops of the bulkheads at E deck from one to the next. Back and back. There's no stopping it.

Smith : The pumps... if we opened the doors...

Thomas Andrews : [interrupting] The pumps buy you time, but minutes only. From this moment, no matter what we do, Titanic will founder.

Ismay : [incredulously] But this ship can't sink!

Thomas Andrews : She's made of iron, sir! I assure you, she can... and she will. It is a mathematical certainty.

Smith : How much time?

Thomas Andrews : An hour... two at most.

Smith : And how many aboard, Mr. Murdoch?

1st Officer William Murdoch : 2,200 souls on board, sir.

Smith : [turning to Ismay] Well, I believe you may get your headlines, Mr. Ismay.
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Archibald said:
Grey Havoc said:
www.reuters.com

Ship blocking Suez Canal moves slightly, unclear when it will refloat

Efforts to dislodge a giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal have allowed its stern and rudder to move, but it remains unclear when the vessel will be refloated, the head of the canal authority said on Saturday.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
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For a split second I read "nuclear when it will refloat" :eek: :eek: :eek:
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I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. Its the only way to be sure.
 
PMN1 said:
[...]
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As I see those pictures, I remember myself watching as a teenager back in the 90's the first episode of Season 3 of the TV series "seaQuest DSV" ("seaQuest 2032" for the 3rd season), where in one scene large helicopters (like the Hiller air tug) arrive to move the submarine seaQuest back to the ocean. o_O
 
www.telegraph.co.uk

Egypt prepares to unload containers from ship blocking Suez after other measures fail

Removal of containers from cargo ship will come if final refloating attempts of Ever Given fail on Sunday night
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

The Suez authorities had hoped to avoid a complex and time-consuming unloading operation, but on Sunday Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, gave orders for it to go ahead.

Removing some of the almost 20,000 containers from the Ever Given is likely to see the canal closed for more days, as it requires specialist equipment that has not yet arrived. Experts fear it cause also cause damage to the ship if it upsets its delicately-spread balance of weight.

"His excellency has ordered that we should not wait for the failure of the first and second scenarios to start thinking about implementing the third one," Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority told Egyptian TV.


The authorities had pinned their hopes on moving the grounded vessel during hight spring high tides over the weekend. But those hopes were dashed when, according to shipping officials, the 220,000 ton ship moved just two degrees (100 foot) during Saturday night’s refloating attempt. At least 321 other ships are now backed up because of the blockage.

Officials are expected to make one last attempts at refloating during high tide on Sunday night before resorting to unloading. A spring tide on Monday is also supposed to raise the canal’s water level as much as 18 inches.
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Looks like it is just the stern that has been freed, but it is progress. Though there is a way to go yet it seems. From the BBC article post by isayyo2, updated around 24 minutes ago:
But the CEO of the salvage company involved in the rescue efforts told Dutch public radio that the operation was far from complete.
"We have movement, which is good news. But I wouldn't say it's a piece of cake now," Peter Berdowski said.
He explained that high-pressure water would be used to try and remove sand and clay from underneath the bow of the ship, but if that failed, then containers would have to be lifted in an operation that could take some time.
"The bow is still stuck rock-solid at the moment in the slightly sandy clay," he said.
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Grey Havoc said:
Looks like it is just the stern that has been freed, but it is progress.
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Between that and the change in angle, they can probably get something closer to a straight pull aft now, which simplifies the situation dramatically. They still need to dig out under the bow, but hopefully they can avoid offloading cargo, which would have been a huge delay.
 
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Probably that clearing enough room for the flow of traffic to resume would be a simpler exercise.
 
We did it,by 80 %.

www.bbc.com

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www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 

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Bravo to everyone involved in freeing the ship.

The ship owner, management + its insurance company might have alot to do now.

BTW This is Chief MaKoi's vid on it.

 

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