BRKG Suez Canal blocked by mega barge - UPDATE, post 356 - ship seized by Egypt

Plain Jane

Just Plain Jane

Suez Traffic To Resume As Blocking Ship Partially Moved
Tyler Durden's Photo

BY TYLER DURDEN
WEDNESDAY, MAR 24, 2021 - 09:00 AM
Update (0739 ET): Bloomberg reports the massive containership blocking the Suez Canal has been dislodged from the bank of the canal and moved to the side, potentially easing disruption to one of the world's most vital shipping lanes.

Ahmed Mekawy, the deputy manager for the Suez Canal for Gulf Agency Company, expects the canal could resume today or tomorrow.
 

Sicario

The Executor

Suez Traffic To Resume As Blocking Ship Partially Moved
Tyler Durden's Photo's Photo

BY TYLER DURDEN
WEDNESDAY, MAR 24, 2021 - 09:00 AM
Update (0739 ET): Bloomberg reports the massive containership blocking the Suez Canal has been dislodged from the bank of the canal and moved to the side, potentially easing disruption to one of the world's most vital shipping lanes.

Ahmed Mekawy, the deputy manager for the Suez Canal for Gulf Agency Company, expects the canal could resume today or tomorrow.
:p POST DUPE: BRKG - Suez Canal blocked by mega barge
 

jward

passin' thru
Yeah. Funny how that works eh? Course it beats asking oneself who would have been potentially responsible for the "blackout" they were first suggesting was the culprit :shkr:

What is with the wind lately? First Sleepy Joe - now Evergreen?
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
Well, slap my chaps and call me impressed. The pictures from Zero Hedge are showing that there was reserve ballast in their tanks so they were able to get de-ballasted enough AND get some powerful enough tugs on the northern end to pull the bow away from the edgeline. (I'd have to see the aft deck but the workboat in the forefront of the photo is an ocean-going tug, I think. Note the differences between it and the other two tugs alongside the ship)
1616594897115.png

I've often said that I'd rather be lucky (or blessed) than good and this situation appears for the moment to be a good reason why.

You'll notice these pictures are taken from the north (the direction the ship was headed) rather than the stern view from the south as we saw yesterday. You can see some other tugs and I imagine there's at least that many on the other side.
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
1616595493279.png
In this picture, you'll notice a couple things: the bulb on the forward edge of the keel is not as pronounced as some (I don't know the reason for the size of one but it's a marine architect thang which is designed for efficiency and stability). There was certainly a bunch of sand moved around as you can see it piled up on the port side. But the big tug was able to apparently dislodge it enough to get the bow swung out into the channel.

Here's some marine tidbits: you see those two little circles welded onto the keel just above the red/black paint lines? Those are called plimsoll marks and are used to give a visual reference to a ship which is fully loaded. I don't know why there are two of them and why they're simpler marks than usual; normally there's a bunch of little lines next to a plimsoll mark which are used to determine draft adjustments for the type of water. (It could be a quick eyeball leveling reference, is my hunch but that's just a guess) That kind of stuff is all done by computer nowadays both as the vessel is loaded and off-loaded, and also while underway to adjust ballast for ocean conditions.

1616595887001.png
I can't imagine there isn't some damage done to the keel but apparently their bilge pumps must be keeping up with any leakage. It's telling that they're just parking it on the side of the channel for now, which means that traffic will be one-lane only in that neck of the woods, until they feel safe about moving it, most likely to Alexandria if the port is deep enough.
 

bw

Fringe Ranger
traffic will be one-lane only in that neck of the woods, until they feel safe about moving it, most likely to Alexandria if the port is deep enough.

Traffic is always one lane only. Convoys go north, then convoys go south. There is some room to park ships in a lake, but the canal itself is one way.

Here's some marine tidbits: you see those two little circles welded onto the keel just above the red/black paint lines? Those are called plimsoll marks and are used to give a visual reference to a ship which is fully loaded.

The two small circles appear to be thruster warning signs. The plimsoll marks appear to be the faint white vertical line near the bow leading edge.

2012_09_03_Innovation_3-Querstrahler_im-Bug_2kk_DSCI0786.JPG
 
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Walrus

Veteran Member
Traffic is always one lane only. Convoys go north, then convoys go south. There is some room to park ships in a lake, but the canal itself is one way.
Ah. Thanks. I did NOT know that. I was wondering how that thing could be so tight with these chinamax containerships.
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
The two small circles appear to be thruster warning signs. The plimsoll marks appear to be the faint white vertical line near the bow leading edge.
You're right, beedub, those are thruster markers. I didn't have the picture blown up enough to see the props; that explains why there are two of them instead of just one. I can imagine they had full power to them while the workboat was pulling them off and damn the erosion. Divers will be busy by now, I expect, taking a look.

That's an odd plimsoll mark if that's what it is, isn't it? At any rate, it doesn't seem that this ship was anywhere near fully loaded but it's hard to tell with the way the bow was plowed up into the shallow part of the canal.
 
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jward

passin' thru
So where would we slap a limpet mine domajig onto the ship, ifin we were going to do such a thing. . .
 

Capt. Eddie

Veteran Member
Traffic is always one lane only. Convoys go north, then convoys go south. There is some room to park ships in a lake, but the canal itself is one way.



The two small circles appear to be thruster warning signs. The plimsoll marks appear to be the faint white vertical line near the bow leading edge.

2012_09_03_Innovation_3-Querstrahler_im-Bug_2kk_DSCI0786.JPG
The making on the bow is a bulbous bow "warning" to let tugs know there is a bulbous bow. When at maximum draft the bulbous bow is submerged. The load line (plimsol line) is always amid ships.

ETA...If you are referring to the vertical line in the red (bottom paint) and blue those are forward draft marks.
 

Capt. Eddie

Veteran Member
Ah, so indicating the draft at that location on the ship. Makes sense.
Yep, you've got forward and aft draft marks on both port and starboard. The relationship between forward and aft draft marks is referred to as trim. The relationship between starboard and port draft is list.

If they had enough spare bottom clearance in the center of the canal what they did was ballast (sink) the stern deeper after they got it pulled to the center of the canal. That would have raised the bow. The ship rotates around a center of gravity (or center of buoyancy depending how you want to do the math) that is some where amidship near where the plimsoll line is on the hull. There are limits to how much you can mess with trim without effecting stability, but you would be amazed how much you can accomplish by moving ballast.
 

tinfoil

Senior Member
It has to jockey to get into its assigned spot in the queue out in the anchorage. Nothing to do with how it goes through the canal.

Think ‘connect the dots’ and take a look at the picture it made while jockeying about...
 

Ku Commando

Inactive
well look at that route before the ship got stuck. Now we know it was a complete dick move by that captain. Sorry couldn’t resist
View attachment 257935


It has to jockey to get into its assigned spot in the queue out in the anchorage. Nothing to do with how it goes through the canal.


bw......knowledgeable as you are about the situation in the Suez canal......it would appear Warm Wisconsin slipped one by you in jest.....the ship's route resembling homo sapiens male genitalia.....


.......though it's beyond me what so fvkkin' funny about a dick
 

bw

Fringe Ranger
bw......knowledgeable as you are about the situation in the Suez canal......it would appear Warm Wisconsin slipped one by you in jest.....the ship's route resembling homo sapiens male genitalia.....

Ahh, yup, that one went right by me.
 

Ku Commando

Inactive

Walrus

Veteran Member
It appears that snakebird is a firebrand who doesn't worry too much about truth.

Cap'n Eddie and bw, thanks for the extra details on the plimsoll mark and such; I had enough trouble (being oilfield instead of a true mariner) remembering what the durned thing was called. I was sort of wondering what a plimsoll mark would be doing anywhere but amidships. But the trim and list marks info is informative as well. Those monsters need some extra markings, for sure.
 

Murt

Veteran Member
I am too conspiratorial at times
But when something like this happens I always wonder if it was an accident or a cover story for something else
 
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