The Suez Canal is blocked

[RFalvo69]

I never traversed Suez, not even when I was in the Navy, but I didn't believe that a single ship could totally block it:



Valiant and vigorous efforts to move her are underway:

[ncc1701e]

This is the prelude to invasion. [X(]

[bomccarthy]

ORIGINAL: RFalvo69

I never traversed Suez, not even when I was in the Navy, but I didn't believe that a single ship could totally block it:

Seriously, boss, I can have this baby dug out in one hour, maybe two....

[RFalvo69]

ORIGINAL: bomccarthy

ORIGINAL: RFalvo69

I never traversed Suez, not even when I was in the Navy, but I didn't believe that a single ship could totally block it:

Seriously, boss, I can have this baby dug out in one hour, maybe two....

I'm starting to realise where the captain of that ship is...

[MrsWargamer]

I should actually know better, but, dang, it looks thin even for just one lane traffic let alone expecting to pass another vessel. I'm surprised this is not common.

Is it common?

[Platoonist]

It's starting to sound increasingly like they may need to offload some of the containers onboard to free the ship.

Of course there's no obstruction that can't be removed with a well-placed and appropriately-sized nuke. [:D]

[Platoonist]

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

I should actually know better, but, dang, it looks thin even for just one lane traffic let alone expecting to pass another vessel. I'm surprised this is not common.

Is it common?

Probably not to this degree. At the heart of this dilemma is the ship’s massive scale. Container vessels have nearly doubled in size in the past decade as global trade has expanded, making the job of moving such ships much harder when they do get stuck.

Even while key routes, including the Suez Canal, have been widened and deepened over the years to accommodate these megasize vessels, the work to dig them out after they get stuck takes enormous power. Such occurrences could become more common as ships get bigger and narrow waterways become more congested.

I would expect tankers and ships that round the Cape of Good Hope to see an uptick in bookings.

[RFalvo69]

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

I should actually know better, but, dang, it looks thin even for just one lane traffic let alone expecting to pass another vessel. I'm surprised this is not common.

Is it common?

Color me surprised (and ignorant), but I never thought that something like this could happen. And, AFAIK, it never happened before.

$10 billions of commerce cross Suez every day. I can't imagine how colossal the pile up of ships must be down there (even if I guess that by now the arriving ones are being re-routed... uhm... around Africa).

Edit: No need to "imagine" these days:
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/ho ... 0.2/zoom:6

[PipFromSlitherine]

I'm going to drop in my standard recommendation of the book "Ninety Percent of Everything" which is an incredibly interesting look at how fast, cheap shipping works, and how it completely changed the way that the world works.

Cheers

Pip

[Platoonist]

ORIGINAL: RFalvo69

$10 billions of commerce cross Suez every day. I can't imagine how colossal the pile up of ships must be down there (even if I guess that by now the arriving ones are being re-routed... uhm... around Africa).

Hmmm. I imagine a lot of Somali Pirates will be topping up their fuel tanks and polishing their RPGs.

[Aurelian]

https://www.marinevesseltraffic.com/201 ... screen=yes

Not a google view but you can see the traffic piling up at the canal.

[Bo Rearguard]

Bulk Venus. Now there's a sexy name for a ship.

[RFalvo69]

ORIGINAL: Platoonist

ORIGINAL: RFalvo69

$10 billions of commerce cross Suez every day. I can't imagine how colossal the pile up of ships must be down there (even if I guess that by now the arriving ones are being re-routed... uhm... around Africa).

Hmmm. I imagine a lot of Somali Pirates will be topping up their fuel tanks and polishing their RPGs.

No problems: we will just send an international task force down there and... Oh... wait... [&:]

[SuluSea]

That looks wild. I've been through the Suez Canal a few times.

I can remember in 1981 seeing destroyed armor along the way side but in 1983 it seemed much more tidy. Perhaps it was my viewing times Machinist's Mates don't get too much time topside.[;)]

The crew manning fire hoses to keep the locals off was always mandatory for smaller naval vessels...

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: Platoonist

It's starting to sound increasingly like they may need to offload some of the containers onboard to free the ship.

Of course there's no obstruction that can't be removed with a well-placed and appropriately-sized nuke. [:D]

You don't even have to be that accurate, close may be just as good as a direct hit.

[RangerJoe]

ORIGINAL: ncc1701e

This is the prelude to invasion. [X(]

In that thread about helping the Italian military during World War II, I suggested that if Italy had plans for entering the war, having a ship or two to block the channel should have been planned.

[RFalvo69]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

ORIGINAL: ncc1701e

This is the prelude to invasion. [X(]

In that thread about helping the Italian military during World War II, I suggested that if Italy had plans for entering the war, having a ship or two to block the channel should have been planned.

When Italy entered the war, they didn't even planned to have plans...

[RFalvo69]

ORIGINAL: Platoonist
Of course there's no obstruction that can't be removed with a well-placed and appropriately-sized nuke. [:D]

Back in the day we used to say "If WWIII breaks out, the Suez Canal is not a place you want to find yourself..."

[Platoonist]

ORIGINAL: RFalvo69

Back in the day we used to say "If WWIII breaks out, the Suez Canal is not a place you want to find yourself..."

Actually, if war breaks out period, the Suez Canal is not a place you want to find yourself. [:D] Witness the dilemma of the Yellow Fleet.

Between 1967 and 1975, fifteen ships were trapped in the Suez Canal after the Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt. The ships became known as the Yellow Fleet because of their appearance from desert sand swept onboard.

During the war, Egypt blocked both ends of the canal to prevent its use by Israel. Scuttled ships, sea mines, and other debris continued to block transport through the canal until the wake of the Yom Kippur War, after which the blockade was lifted. A 1974 clearance operation enabled the ships to leave, after eight years of being stranded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Fleet

In early 1975, the Suez Canal was once again opened for international transport, and on 24 May 1975, the German ships Münsterland and Nordwind finally reached Hamburg port, cheered by more than 30,000 spectators. They were reportedly the only ships to have returned to their home port under their own power. For the Münsterland this was the end of a voyage to Australia which had lasted eight years, three months and five days

[RangerJoe]

How That Massive Ship Got Stuck in the Suez Canal—and Why Nobody Can Get It Out
Hey, YOU try dislodging something that weighs 200,000 metric tons.
Mar 25, 2021

A colossal container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal on Tuesday has ensnarled one of the world's busiest shipping lanes in a marine traffic jam.

Two days later, more than 100 container ships are still waiting at each end of the canal as tug boats and dredgers struggle to free the Ever Given, which weighs 200,000 metric tons and stretches 1,300 feet long.
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https://www.popularmechanics.com/techno ... hip-stuck/