Thread: Suez Canal blocked after massive container ship runs aground

Apparently there were no failures to the ship and the 50km/h sandstorm is being blamed. Sounds interesting, I thought such sandstorms were reasonably common in that area of the world.

Ever Given updates: Stuck ship in Egypt’s Suez Canal imperils some 150 vessels

Originally Posted by Troy

Apparently there were no failures to the ship and the 50km/h sandstorm is being blamed. Sounds interesting, I thought such sandstorms were reasonably common in that area of the world.

Ever Given updates: Stuck ship in Egypt’s Suez Canal imperils some 150 vessels

I don't think sand has anything to do with it, it's just the wind.

It starts to blow a hoolie here at this time of year for up to a few weeks. Then when it's finished, the temperature abruptly shoots up and summer begins.

^ this...

Suez Canal suspends traffic as ship stuck like 'beached whale'

ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - A container ship blocking the Suez Canal like a “beached whale” sent new shockwaves through global trade on Thursday as officials stopped all ships entering the channel and the salvage company said it may take weeks to free.


The 400 m (430 yard) Ever Given, almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, is blocking transit in both directions through one of the world’s busiest shipping channels for oil and grain and other trade linking Asia and Europe.


The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said eight tugs were working to move the vessel, which got stuck diagonally across the single-lane southern stretch of the canal on Tuesday morning amid high winds and a dust storm.


“We can’t exclude it might take weeks, depending on the situation,” Peter Berdowski, CEO of Dutch company Boskalis which is trying to free the ship, told the Dutch television programme “Nieuwsuur”.


Several dozen vessels, including other large container ships, tankers carrying oil and gas, and bulk vessels hauling grain have backed up at either end of the canal to create one of the worst shipping jams seen for years.


The SCA, which had allowed some vessels to enter the canal in the hope the blockage could be cleared, said it had temporarily suspended all traffic on Thursday.


Thirteen vessels that sailed south from Port Said in a convoy on Wednesday had dropped anchor in the Bitter Lakes waiting area until navigation could be resumed, it said.

Berdowski said the ship’s bow and stern had been lifted up against either side of the canal.


“It is like an enormous beached whale. It’s an enormous weight on the sand. We might have to work with a combination of reducing the weight by removing containers, oil and water from the ship, tug boats and dredging of sand.”


Roughly 30% of the world’s shipping container volume transits through the 193 km (120 miles) Suez Canal daily, and about 12% of total global trade of all goods.


Shipping experts say that if the blockage is unlikely to be cleared in the coming days, some shipping firms may re-route vessels around the southern tip of Africa, which would add roughly a week to the journey.


Consultancy Wood Mackenzie said the biggest impact was on container shipping, but there were also a total of 16 laden crude and product oil tankers due to sail through the canal and now delayed by the incident.


The load of the tankers amounted to 870,000 tonnes of crude and 670,000 tonnes of clean oil products such as gasoline, naphtha and diesel, it said.

According to oil analytics firm Vortexa, Russia and Saudi Arabia are the top two exporters of oil through the canal, while India and China are the main importers.


Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), the technical manager of Ever Given, said dredgers were working to clear sand and mud from around the blocked vessel while tugboats in conjunction with Ever Given’s winches work to shift it.


Marine services firm GAC issued a note to clients overnight saying efforts to free the vessel using tug boats continued, but that wind conditions and the sheer size of the vessel “were hindering the operation”.


Japanese shipowner Shoei Kisen apologised for the incident and said work on freeing the ship, which was heading to Europe from China, “has been extremely difficult” and it was not clear when the vessel would float again.


The ship’s GPS signal shows only minor changes to its position over the past 24 hours.


Suez Canal suspends traffic as ship stuck like '''beached whale''' | Reuters

I see financial difficulties in the ship owners future.

Originally Posted by Cujo

I see financial difficulties in the ship owners future.

The average daily income of the Suez canal is about 16 million dollars , never mind the losses to trade , other shipping companies, and the disruption in supply lines.

Originally Posted by Troy

Apparently there were no failures to the ship and the 50km/h sandstorm is being blamed. Sounds interesting, I thought such sandstorms were reasonably common in that area of the world.

Have you felt the effect of sandstorms in Germany yet? We had 3 days with the sky being orange yellowish and the cars covered with light sahara sand.



A new groundbreaking study shows that warming planet will make dust storms more intense in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

Ever Given updates: Stuck ship in Egypt’s Suez Canal imperils some 150 vessels[/QUOTE]

How the captain - bored by the waiting on the entry permission - made use of the time, drawing by his movement a picture that nobody knows what it is... (anybody here can help?)


UPDATE 2: Suez Canal Blocked by Huge container ship; Video simulation of the controversial track - VesselFinder

^ tomcat will soon be here and tell you

There are big concerns about not only the empty shelves in Germany and East Coast hungry department stores (and Amazon online) but also about the price of oil.
It plays in hands of dangerous Mr. Putin who exports so much to US (Russia 3rd biggest US oil import?)

So, who needs the Nordstream 2?

I have some good news, at least. China claims Taiwan is a renegade province of the PRC- so you can blame this on China too!

Originally Posted by sabang

I have some good news, at least. China claims Taiwan is a renegade province of the PRC- so you can blame this on China too!

Maybe you should have read the thread rather than embarrass yourself with what you thought was your "quick-wittedness".

GBP6.5Bn worth of goods per day mounting up, or going to be ten days late if they go the long way round.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Maybe you should have read the thread rather than embarrass yourself with what you thought was your "quick-wittedness".

He is wasted drunk. Almost midnight in OZ.

I'm sure we'll all live. Anything urgent will be shipped round the cape or flown.

Originally Posted by strigils

I'm sure we'll all live. Anything urgent will be shipped round the cape or flown.

Good god you lot may have to go back to eating those American beans again.

Yep, send em over Snubby, some of that "cheese" too, remember the war, just like that without Creepy's ancestors sinking the boats. Nostalgia.

Originally Posted by strigils

Anything urgent will be shipped round the cape or flown.

Yes just imagine when the lot going around will arrive at the same time in Amsterdam.
Shipping is a just-in-time operation and not an all-at-the-same-time operation..

The bars will be busy and the girls bandier than ever

Originally Posted by lom

Not ships longer than the width of the channel..

And also they should not be necessary wider than the width of the channel...

Originally Posted by Klondyke

And also they should not be necessary wider than the width of the channel...

how many ships wider than the width of the channel do you think get through??

Originally Posted by Klondyke
And also they should not be necessary wider than the width of the channel...

Originally Posted by TheRealKW

how many ships wider than the width of the channel do you think get through??

Sorry, I have forgotten to place a ....