If you go to vesselfinder you can follow the drama in real-time! Seems it's still stuck: https://www.vesselfinder.com/?imo=9811000
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Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
251–260 of 462 posts
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#252Here is another accident of the "Ever Given" in Hamburg [0] in which a harbour ferry suffered a total loss after being rammed by her. Supposed cause was an unfortunate combination of slow speeds and severe wind which seems to be a difficult situation for ships as tall as these. Maybe a similar combination of events happened here? [0] https://www.mopo.de/hamburg/frachter-rammt-faehre-knapp-an-d...
I believe the cause of the incident here was a blackout [1]. [1] https://gcaptain.com/grounded-mega-ship-blocking-suez-canal-...
AFP reports gust of wind.
> Early reports speculated the vessel suffered a loss of power, but the ship’s operator, Evergreen Marine Corp, told Agence France-Presse it ran aground after being hit by a gust of wind.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/24/huge-container...
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#253Earlier quoted context omitted.
The cause for that accident seems to have been strong wind, which apparently makes these huge ships very hard or even impossible to maneuver when they are going slow. If true, then the "systemic issue" is only that ships are getting too big.
Hi. Skipper here (nothing of the size of the ship in question, obviously:). Ships of ANY size are hard or impossible to maneuver when they are going slow and have a blackout. The size doesn't matter. The control surfaces only work when they move with regards to water. The ship that does not move is uncontrollable with rudder and it needs to use something else to help it maneuver. This something else can be a tugboat…
Isn't this why new ships are starting to have multiple 360 degree electrical drivers instead of one big propeller? I think they are called iso-pods.
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#254Ha, I happened to see it leave Boston August of last year and snapped a photo of it because it was jaw dropping big (and I’m not a boat person!) the Evergreen had 4 tugboats guiding it. Yeah that thing isn’t moving without professional help. https://photos.app.goo.gl/6Ywgot5wmK6HDNoV6 Edit: so this is the “ever living” that’s 335 meters long. The ever given is 400 meters long
Hey, I am in Boston, which park is that? Looks great to have a walk.
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#255Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't the problem that ships are burning heavy oil instead of diesel or similar? CO2 isn't the main worry afaik, it's the rest that gets blasted unfiltered into the atmosphere and the left over sludge that gets illegally dumped into the sea.
it's not perfect but it's gotten better apparently. 170 countries have signed a treaty significantly reducing the fuel sulphur content. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARPOL_73/78#IMO_2020 https://www.imo.org/fr/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Sulphur-2... https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/02-I... The upper limit of the sulphur content of ships' fuel oil was reduced to 0.5% (from 3.5% previously) - u…
Ironically, a reduction in sulfur emitted from these ships may actually accelerate global warming: https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/01/22/67402/were-about...
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#256Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hi. Skipper here (nothing of the size of the ship in question, obviously:). Ships of ANY size are hard or impossible to maneuver when they are going slow and have a blackout. The size doesn't matter. The control surfaces only work when they move with regards to water. The ship that does not move is uncontrollable with rudder and it needs to use something else to help it maneuver. This something else can be a tugboat…
Isn't this why new ships are starting to have multiple 360 degree electrical drivers instead of one big propeller? I think they are called iso-pods.
You mean this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azipod
I think the biggest issue is complexity and resulting unreliability. On a ship that has to be in constant use for decades you want things that are simple and reliable.
"The latest design, the Azipod X, incorporates these improvements, with a view to a service interval of five years, and features bearings that can be taken apart and repaired from inside the pod while the ship is harbored normally"
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. They are working on it:)
Also an important factor on large vessel is fuel efficiency. You don't want anything sticking out unless absolutely necessary, so these would have to be meant for propulsion. But because of complex construction I can expect they are less efficient than just straight through axle and a huge propeller on it.
I expect things like this to be useful on utility vessels of small to medium size where you don't necessarily need so much efficiency but the utility comes from being able to maneuver quickly and in various conditions.
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#257Earlier quoted context omitted.
...and as the article says, "Furthermore, some of the world's main waterways such as the Suez Canal and Singapore Strait also restrict the maximum dimensions of a ship that can pass through them.", which explains why the list consists of large fleets of ships all almost exactly the same size.
Much like Panamax being the largest ship size which can traverse the Panama canal, there's a corresponding Suezmax[1]. Sort of like the old story of the Space Shuttle's SRB size being dictated by old Roman road design, it's interesting how modern design is influenced by historical limitations we might not consider.
One of the main roads near where I live is a Roman road. It's fascinating that the new buildings being built along it have their design constrained, in some way, by a decision made 2000 years ago.
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#258I think this could possibly be the black swan event.
It would be ironic if this spiralled into a global crisis, that spiraled into something else, until, finally, we're all cave people again. I think conspiracy theorists are having a field day.
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#259Earlier quoted context omitted.
The cause for that accident seems to have been strong wind, which apparently makes these huge ships very hard or even impossible to maneuver when they are going slow. If true, then the "systemic issue" is only that ships are getting too big.
Hi. Skipper here (nothing of the size of the ship in question, obviously:). Ships of ANY size are hard or impossible to maneuver when they are going slow and have a blackout. The size doesn't matter. The control surfaces only work when they move with regards to water. The ship that does not move is uncontrollable with rudder and it needs to use something else to help it maneuver. This something else can be a tugboat…
For ships that have turbo-electric drive trains rather than big shafts, I wonder if it would be possible to vector the propellers somewhat for better maneuverability, the same way that rockets use gimballing engines? Probably not worth the maintenance though, with sealant and salt water considerations.
Re: Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
#260Tengential but I am always curious what software these huge logistics company use to manage their business. From my outsider's perspective, it seems like a best-in-class-software enabled company would have a massive advantage over the rest. Interested to hear if anyone has insights about this
In 2016 John Willis was with Docker and he gave a talk where he casually recommended a book called The Box [1] about how shipping containers have shaped the modern world. When I was reading it there was a part where they talk about how the logistics optimization problem caused the major shippers to be some of the earliest adopters of computers. Interesting book.