# Breaking News: Suez Canal blocked by a mega-sized container vessel \[Cleared\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 23, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516 "2021-03-23T21:52:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/363 "2021-03-29T14:17:00Z")
I think the Dutch owe the moon a cut of their commission. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/364 "2021-03-29T14:22:30Z")
I thought it was going to take weeks, but this is another case where I am delighted to be wrong. The ass-end of a container ship never looked so good as in GreenWyvern’s post. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/365 "2021-03-29T14:35:19Z")
Indeed - given we have a one-liner (that had already been discussed earlier in the thread), a post containing “major WAG”, and a post with “probably”. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/366 "2021-03-29T14:40:38Z")
Your mileage obviously varies, and -sure- you can pick out individual words as minor qualifiers, but I stand by my comment. It’s not a big deal - people are wrong sometimes. In this case, happily so, I am sure. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/367 "2021-03-29T15:12:21Z")
John Konrad of gCaptain has just said that this was the best case scenario, and there was only about a 10% chance of it succeeding… but sometimes you get lucky and the best case scenario works out. Even last night the salvagers themselves were urging caution: > “Don’t cheer too soon … The good news is that the stern is free but we saw that as the simplest part of the job.” ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/368 "2021-03-29T15:22:15Z")
Sorry for ruffling anyone’s feathers. I don’t wish to create a hijack of this thread. Hooray for the ship being freed! ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/369 "2021-03-29T15:26:11Z")
Unruffled here, no need to apologise - it’s always interesting to see how different people see things differently. That’s why we discuss stuff! My recent posts were perhaps terser than they might have been, apologies for that. I guess it’s understandable if this thread in particular has veered off course a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/370 "2021-03-29T15:26:22Z")
Has there been a report on how much damage the Ever Given took on? I assume there will have to be some repair but is it extensive? Does the EG need to be scrapped? Can it finish its route first? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/371 "2021-03-29T15:27:00Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > John Konrad of gCaptain has just said that this was the best case scenario, and there was only about a 10% chance of it succeeding… but sometimes you get lucky and the best case scenario works out. As every Dungeons & Dragons player knows, “there’s a 20 (the best possible result) on every 20-sided die.” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/372 "2021-03-29T15:29:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Time for everyone to go the long way around Africa. I read this morning that there’s so much of a backup at the canal that a lot of ships would do better to sail around Africa than to wait their turn, even if it were cleared immediately. So I think this one stands. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/373 "2021-03-29T15:31:21Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Has there been a report on how much damage the Ever Given took on? I assume there will have to be some repair but is it extensive? Does the EG need to be scrapped? Can it finish its route first? I assume they are towing it to stern because of possible damage to the bow. Is it a trick of the angle or the lighting, but it appears to me that the ship is listing to port? ---
**Author:** ![Drsunflower1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drsunflower1/32/12711_2.png) [@Drsunflower1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drsunflower1)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/375 "2021-03-29T15:48:04Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I think the Dutch owe the moon a cut of their commission Fair enough… But we did it! 🥳 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/376 "2021-03-29T15:54:43Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > Sorry for ruffling anyone’s feathers. I don’t wish to create a hijack of this thread. > > Hooray for the ship being freed! Yes indeed. Hooray! Good on ya SMIT & Boskelis. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/377 "2021-03-29T16:13:55Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I read this morning that there’s so much of a backup at the canal that a lot of ships would do better to sail around Africa than to wait their turn, even if it were cleared immediately. So I think this one stands. How much time does it add to go around Africa? Because for ships already waiting, the delay can hardly exceed six days, the time the ship was stuck. Perhaps for a ship that hasn’t already come up the gulf it might make sense to go around. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/378 "2021-03-29T16:20:35Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > How much time does it add to go around Africa? I had read, earlier today, that it would add ~9 days. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/379 "2021-03-29T16:24:27Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The ass-end of a container ship never looked so good as in GreenWyvern’s post. All ships bring joy, some when they arrive, some when they depart. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/380 "2021-03-29T16:36:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > > > How much time does it add to go around Africa? > > I had read, earlier today, that it would add ~9 days. I assume it’s more additional days for ships headed to Greece than for ships headed to the US. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/381 "2021-03-29T16:57:11Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > How much time does it add to go around Africa? Because for ships already waiting, the delay can hardly exceed six days, the time the ship was stuck. Perhaps for a ship that hasn’t already come up the gulf it might make sense to go around. That assumes that the canal is open at full capacity right away, and that ships will all go through in the order they arrived. Just because the Ever Given is moving now, it may take a while to get things completely back to normal. And ships with perishable cargo may be given priority over those that don’t. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/382 "2021-03-29T17:16:45Z")
Just looked at the ship tracking map: [https://www.vesselfinder.com/](https://www.vesselfinder.com/) and apparently the _ **Ever Given** _ is in the wider part of the canal, making 6.2 knots on her own and heading north to the Med. Several Container ships have already entered the part of the canal that was blocked off, heading southward to the Gulf (including the Ever Globe, another mega-container ship…) ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/383 "2021-03-29T17:21:30Z")
I bet the crew of the Ever globe are quite tightly clenched. I am picturing Gary Larsons ‘Roger screws up’ cartoon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516.md?page=20)