Suez blocked.

[Kukri]

That is more or less exactly what the Boskalis CEO told Dutch television tonight: the ship is firmly wedged into the bank with its bow, but not the stern. They are bringing in two extremely powerful tugs over the weekend and keep dredging around the bow and hope to be able to pull her off using the spring tides of the first half of the week. If that fails, he reckons they will have to remove about 600 containers from the front stacks using a big crane on the bank. He would not be drawn on how long that would take. My guess would be the next springs in two weeks.

Thank you! I feel rather pleased with myself!

 

[westhinder]

Thank you! I feel rather pleased with myself!

It is fascinating to have your insider’s knowledge on board here. Keep it coming.

 

[plumbob]

True story this. In 1995 in preparation for the VE day commemorations, the US government wanted to bring the George Washington close in shore at Omaha beach. Having picked up the President from Portsmouth. The WW2 commemorations team was lead by 3 senior officers from our services. Headed eventually by Sir Nicholas Soames. It was then pointed out to the US team that even at high water, the sea was very shallow a couple of miles out. The reply came back from the US saying thats not a problem, we have the Corps of Engineers who can do it. The UK team passed that to the French. Funnily enough, they said Non!.
Suez canal here we come.

 

[Yealm]

How do they see where they're going - the bridge doesn't look high enough to see over all the containers ?!
Lots of video cameras on the bow ?

 

[JumbleDuck]

Bookings give a scheduled arrival date, but it is a moveable feast. Schedule reliability on Asia-Europe is running at about 25% at the moment. Arguably, cargo owners are used to delays, but to reliable delays. The extra week or so to go the long way around is one they weren't expecting.

This is what I am trying to understand ... if they all expect to leave their containers at the docks for two weeks, a week's delay shouldn't matter. I'm not trying to be contentious, just interested.

 

[Kukri]

This is what I am trying to understand ... if they all expect to leave their containers at the docks for two weeks, a week's delay shouldn't matter. I'm not trying to be contentious, just interested.

It’s in the nature of European importers, including the British ones, to whinge at the drop of a hat. And the ports were already under strain with higher than usual volumes.

 

[Easticks28]

She has two bow thrusters but Evergreen seem to have lost interest in stern thrusters recently; I suppose they don’t have enough installed reefer points to justify the generators on the monsters.

Thrusters don’t work at speed. She was going much too fast (12-13 knots) for the thrusters to be effective.

Tell that to hire boaters on the Broads

 

[Capt Popeye]

One of the obvious advantages of a trailer sailer is that when this sort of thing happens you can just tow your boat home, Has anyone thought about trying to get a large trailer under her keel or weld wheels to her hull then transit the remainder of the canal by road?

Yea, thought that the Ship Owners and Freigh Owners could just offer a 'Buy and Take Away' service to the Locals, I am sure that there are enough Locals involved in 'Trade' that could lighten that Ship in 'no time whts so ever' !

 

[MoodySabre]

I read in the paper today that some expert thought Sunday HW would be favourite for getting this boat afloat. Is the Suez Canal tidal?

 

[Kukri]

I read in the paper today that some expert thought Sunday HW would be favourite for getting this boat afloat. Is the Suez Canal tidal?

The Med is not, as we all know, but the Red Sea is, so the effect is that the southern section as far as the Great Bitter Lake is tidal, with the Great Bitter Lake acting as an accumulator. The Med is slightly higher than the Red Sea so overall there is a slight north to south current in the Canal, but the tide overcomes this south of the Great Bitter Lake.

I think the expert in question may be Peter Berdowski who is the CEO of Boskalis who are the world’s biggest dredging company and who own Smit.

They don’t need to bring in dredging equipment in this case because the SCA have some of the best in the world already. The biggest cutter suction dredger on the planet, the Mashour, is now working at the bow of the Ever Given.

The actual tide data is:

1. estimated tide height (SUEZ) at grounding 1.50m

2. spring high 1am 31/03/21 2.14m

3. She is one metre out of her draft so 64cm or 36cm deficit

 

[Bilgediver]

Thank you! I feel rather pleased with myself!

Appreciate your contributions at a time when you may be rather busy unless retired No doubt a few of your vessels westbound between The Malacca Straits and Suez flipping a coin!

 

[westernman]

The Med is not, as we all know,

The Med is tidal. Just that the tides are of relatively low amplitude and complicated to predict. So in practice nobody bothers.

 

[Babylon]

1. estimated tide height (SUEZ) at grounding 1.50m

2. spring high 1am 31/03/21 2.14m

3. She is one metre out of her draft so 64cm or 36cm deficit

Finally some key information!

So how many top (i.e. relatively lighter) containers would need to be removed (in theory) for her floating draught to reduce by 14 inches? And/or how much fuel would need to be temporarily pumped out to achieve similar?

If they don't succeed with diggers and tugs etc in the next few days, then they've got another whole month at least to start unloading...

 

[Gary Fox]

Tuesday night

 

[Bilgediver]

Finally some key information!

So how many top (i.e. relatively lighter) containers would need to be removed (in theory) for her floating draught to reduce by 14 inches?

And/or how much fuel would need to be temporarily pumped out to achieve similar?

It may be possible to transfer fuel forard to aft and fill aft ballast tanks if the stern is afloat.
In my younger days it took us three weeks to remove enough cargo to compensate for a loss of 1 metre draft and then put it back on board using derelict barges and ships equipment. That was a wee 10,000 tonner. The consignee moaned about the tattered state of the bagged sugar when it finally arrived in China but did accept it.

 

[westernman]

Tide chart for Sète on the Med coast in France.
It looks like I was wrong to say nobody bothers.

Tide Times and Tide Chart for Sete

 

[mjcoon]

The Med is tidal. Just that the tides are of relatively low amplitude and complicated to predict. So in practice nobody bothers.

A few years ago we spent hours failing to get a grounded (very gently) yacht off a shallow area, only to find it floated off on its own the next morning. And this was not even in an open area but in the Bay of Kotor.

 

[newtothis]

It’s in the nature of European importers, including the British ones, to whinge at the drop of a hat. And the ports were already under strain with higher than usual volumes.

I talk to both sides, and can safely say it is the nature of shippers to whinge about carriers, and the nature of carriers to whinge about shippers. And for port operators to whinge about both (although not in public about carriers as they pay the bills). Both sides blame the ports for being at fault.

 

[Gary Fox]

A few years ago we spent hours failing to get a grounded (very gently) yacht off a shallow area, only to find it floated off on its own the next morning. And this was not even in an open area but in the Bay of Kotor.

Also true of the allegedly non-tidal Baltic Sea...

 

[Kukri]

Appreciate your contributions at a time when you may be rather busy unless retired No doubt a few of your vessels westbound between The Malacca Straits and Suez flipping a coin!

That is not a decision for me to take, happily. “My” ships are on time charter and the charterers can worry about that, but in any case they are a bit small for the main east west route, these days. We are north south traders now.