Just Put the Thing in Reverse Why Don'tja?

[Christian Williams]

Clowns to the left of me!
Jokers to the right!
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/03/25/faq-suez-canal-ever-given/

 

[Bolo]

Call Tow Boat US!

 

[toddster]

I read this morning that they are pumping out the ballast (because unloading the deck load would be too hard.) What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Bolo]

Reminds me of when my dad was trying to teach me to parallel park.

 

[Alan Gomes]

Nothing a tactical nuke couldn't fix....

 

[Rocinante33]

Yeah, lets build some more ships that are so damned big that they can’t even be handled or steered against the wind in a protected waterway! It makes sense to me! Yahoo!

 

[Dave G.]

I don't think a 30kt wind would move that ship leeward let alone render it rudderless, there's a little more to the story me thinks.

 

[nquigley]

I don't think a 30kt wind would move that ship leeward let alone render it rudderless, there's a little more to the story me thinks.

I heard a report that they also had an electrical outage at the time, but you'd think they'd have at least one layer of redundancy for mission-critical electrical systems (??)

 

[goldenstate]

The two-stroke diesel engine powering the Ever Given has pistons that are 3.15 feet in diameter.

The Ever Given Is Powered By A 79,500-HP Diesel Engine Bigger Than Most Houses

Buried deep inside the Ever Given is a Mitsui–MAN B&W 11G95ME-C9 two-stroke diesel engine.

jalopnik.com

 

[1911tex]

And here is how it all started:

 

[Christian Williams]

It seems to me (from reading newspaper speculation) that things got out of hand like this:

The speed limit is 10 in the canal. The ship's speed at impact with the sand was 15 knots.

Apparently the captain had to increase speed in order to maintain steerageway given the wind vector. Or perhaps the wind itself propelled the ship faster. Or both. Then, crunch.

Not hard to imagine for any single-screw sailboat skipper who has had to maneuver in confined space with a crosswind. When things go sideways there isn't much you can do. And yeah, such a megaship has a single screw just like us.

It seems that Suez pilots, unlike pilots elsewhere, are patronage jobs and effectively a boondoggle. They just sit there. The ship's captain is in actual control, not just theoretical control, and seldom even consults with the pilots. On some of these ships the pilots are relegated to their own shack, far from the bridge, in recognition of their non-status.

Woulda probably been a shrug, "but then the tide went out."

It will be fun to see what the eventual recommendations are and where blame lands.

 

[Geoff W.]

Here's a fun game for us armchair cargo captains: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/03/cnnix-steership/

 

[1911tex]

Here's a fun game for us armchair cargo captains: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021/03/cnnix-steership/

I tried...had to start over 4 times due to high winds.....whew!!!

 

[Christian Williams]

Five tries before I made it. Yikes!

Took engine power 50 percent, which seems high. I wonder how that translates to the speed limit of 10.

 

[goldenstate]

And here is how it all started:

GPS charting of the ship's path/performance art prior to entering the canal seems to support this notion.

 

[nquigley]

//snip

Not hard to imagine for any single-screw sailboat skipper who has had to maneuver in confined space with a crosswind. When things go sideways there isn't much you can do. And yeah, such a megaship has a single screw just like us.

snip//

I just read that it has two large bow thrusters too. All the same - must be a beast to handle in a cross-breeze or strong adverse current:

The Ever Given Is Powered By A 79,500-HP Diesel Engine Bigger Than Most Houses

Buried deep inside the Ever Given is a Mitsui–MAN B&W 11G95ME-C9 two-stroke diesel engine.

jalopnik.com