Accidents and mishaps at sea

[June Ingram]

Probably, taking the on line course in navigation wasn't such a great idea.....

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

A closer look at the hydrodynamics :

https://www.ft.com/content/171c92ec-0a44-4dc5-acab-81ee2620d3c1?

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Well, it is starting to happen…

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/stranded-ever-given-ship-partially-refloated-and-straightened-in-suez-canal-1.4522768?

[Thomas Hypher]

A closer look at the hydrodynamics :

https://www.ft.com/content/171c92ec-0a44-4dc5-acab-81ee2620d3c1?

This FT link is locked behind their paywall unfortunately.

A couple of videos which refer to the "bank effect" and other hydrodynamic issues by an experienced aviation pilot who provides excellent unbiased news reports (albeit usually on air accidents):

And a video by his marine equivalent who usually vlogs his life on the ocean waves (used as one of the sources by the above YouTuber as not a subject matter expert):

When ships are undergoing a RAS (Refuelling At Sea) a somewhat similar phenomenon to the "bank effect" is encountered apparently (the smaller ship more likely being sucked towards the larger ship if I understand it correctly).

[Rob Lightbody]

She seems to still be stuck with no end in sight according to the salvage company. They're talking about unloading the bow so they can release it.  There must be a real risk of accidentally damaging the ship... They've brought the stern around and it's a good job the bow swiveled and didn't just snap off or bend!

[Rod]

https://apnews.com/article/suez-canal-ship-freed-live-updates-48f856c9afed58feb908878c2a495287

Giant container ship that blocked Suez Canal set free

[Rob Lightbody]

https://apnews.com/article/suez-canal-ship-freed-live-updates-48f856c9afed58feb908878c2a495287

Giant container ship that blocked Suez Canal set free

Fantastic news!

Hopefully they will learn some lessons from this???

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

What amazes me is the number of ships that were blocked due to this event. 369 of them, to be precise -- and that is without counting the Maersk and other ships that were quickly diverted via the Cape of Good Hope instead.

We seem to be so focused on cruise ships at this time of Covid limitations, that we risk overlooking the fact that much of the world's freight shipping (as well as ferries, short or long distance) continues in the meantime.

[Rob Lightbody]

I was just having a look to see what ships were using the canal already and there we have.... just entering the stretch where Ever Given got stuck, at 400M long, the Ever Globe!!  Fingers crossed!

[Rob Lightbody]

Attached is a photo of a long line of ships full of crew who are very grateful to not be heading off round the Cape!

It's quite addictive watching the Suez canal, it's incredibly busy and fast moving.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Looks very impressive!

However, if I were crew, I would relish the detour around the African coast and the Cape .

[Rod]

I follow this guys vlog. Apart from the Evergiven he has some very interesting short videos on all sorts of shipboard life.

Sorry, just noticed that someone has posted one of the videos. As for not being an expert..........he certainley knows a lot.

[Rod]

What amazes me is the number of ships that were blocked due to this event. 369 of them, to be precise -- and that is without counting the Maersk and other ships that were quickly diverted via the Cape of Good Hope instead.

We seem to be so focused on cruise ships at this time of Covid limitations, that we risk overlooking the fact that much of the world's freight shipping (as well as ferries, short or long distance) continues in the meantime.

Don't forget that something like 10% of the worlds cargo of one kind or another goes through the Suez.
Another thing that this brought up......containers may be in short supply soon because of the amount of full ones that are stuck in the canal.
AND, the blame game has started. Ship owners blame the weather and a steering gear malfunction, canal boss says whoa hold on, somebody  tried to blame the pilots. This is going to get nasty.And expensive!

[Andy Holloway]

Looks very impressive!

However, if I were crew, I would relish the detour around the African coast and the Cape .

Not if you were due on leave from Rotterdam or wherever in Europe these ships are heading you wouldn't!

There are no stops, for a 'tour' or a days 'sightseeing' on that route, apart from possibly a fuel stop in Cape Town or Durban. Resupplying and any crew changes are normally done by helicopter while still underway, stopping costs money.

I wonder if the owners of those ships that have started the 'detour' have rued their decision, taken in haste possibly!

[Rob Lightbody]

I follow this guys vlog. Apart from the Evergiven he has some very interesting short videos on all sorts of shipboard life.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltdHRdtEHE4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CIgHnH-1zo

Sorry, just noticed that someone has posted one of the videos. As for not being an expert..........he certainley knows a lot.

Thank you (both) for posting those - I just got lost in his videos for a while!

This one is fab - he takes you on board during a Suez voyage on his ship.