# 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:** 5
**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 24, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/81 "2021-03-24T15:13:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > A million-to-one chance succeeds nine times out of ten. Take it up with this guy. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3m5qxZm_JqM/hqdefault.jpg "Clarke and Dawe - The Front Fell Off") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM) > [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > One of my all-time favourite videos, that I only discovered recently (thanks to a tip-off on this board IIRC). You might want to track down a TV series called “The Games”. It’s a mockumentary about the organizing of the Sydney Olympics, written by and starring Clarke and Dawe from the video. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/82 "2021-03-24T15:32:05Z")
I’ve seen it. One of my faves. But whenever I see ‘million-to-one chance’, I can’t help but think of Discworld. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/83 "2021-03-24T16:41:34Z")
Now that’s the sort of thing I come to the 'Dope for. Thank you, @Cheesesteak. Logistics is amazing, isn’t it? We all depend on it, but most of us (_me_) don’t really understand what all is involved in keeping civilization moving. As to the wind moving the ship, I hadn’t thought about how the side of a ship that size plus the wall of cargo stacked on it could act like a sail. What I was thinking was “that size ship laden with cargo weighs a fuckton, how could the wind possibly affect it _that much_”. Note I’m not saying that the wind couldn’t affect it at all, just that it didn’t seem possible that if it were under power it could be moved that much off course. I am not a sailor, though, and my days of calculating things like moments of inertia and force affecting mass are long, long past. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/84 "2021-03-24T16:57:41Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > As to the wind moving the ship, I hadn’t thought about how the side of a ship that size plus the wall of cargo stacked on it could act like a sail. What I was thinking was “that size ship laden with cargo weighs a fuckton, how could the wind possibly affect it _that much_ ”. Note I’m not saying that the wind couldn’t affect it at all, just that it didn’t seem possible that if it were under power it could be moved that much off course. I am not a sailor, though, and my days of calculating things like moments of inertia and force affecting mass are long, long past. Big ships have…interesting handling characteristics. There’s actually a school in France where aspiring sailors can operate scale models of these big ships to learn how to deal with the various scenarios they may encounter in the real world. “Scale model” in this case means that instead of a 1000-foot-long vessel weighing thousands of tons and fitted with tens of thousands of horsepower, you get a ship that’s 40 feet long, is ballasted to maybe 25 tons, and has a 3-horsepower engine. The student is positioned on the model ship so that his eyes are where they would be, relatively speaking, on a full-scale vessel. > **[Port Revel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Revel)** > > The Port Revel Shiphandling Training Centre is a French maritime pilotage school that trains pilots, masters, and officers on large ships like supertankers, container ships, LNG carriers and cruise ships . The facility uses manned models at a 1:25 scale on a man-made lake designed to simulate natural conditions including harbours, canals, and open seas. It was the first such facility in the world. The Centre was created in 1967 near Grenoble, France, by Laboratoire Dauphinois d'Hydraulique (now ... Weird things happen when big ships pass close by each other, or by specific underwater geography, or certain currents/winds, and these captains need to be ready for it because once something unexpected starts to happen, it’s very hard to salvage the situation. Here for example is a failed overtaking maneuver in a narrow canal (note how the slower vessel is drawn toward the faster one, resulting in a collision): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dq8EQVl7GG0/hqdefault.jpg "Failed overtaking of another ship in a canal - Port Revel Shiphandling") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq8EQVl7GG0) In the school, it’s “oops, sorry about that” and maybe apply some touch-up paint. In the real world, you lose cargo, sink ships, and kill people. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/85 "2021-03-24T16:58:31Z")
Here is how my silly mind works: I saw the picture and the first thing I heard in my head was _“Somebody’s gotta go back and get a shit-load of dimes!”_ ---
**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 24, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/86 "2021-03-24T17:50:55Z")
I don’t know if it’s been mentioned here, but I just heard on the BBC that there is an older channel that (probably smaller) ships have been diverted to. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/87 "2021-03-24T17:59:13Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I just heard on the BBC that there is an older channel that (probably smaller) ships have been diverted to. [I’m not seeing one](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Suez+Canal/@30.0602018,32.4803948,35794m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x14f9aaeef52d333b:0xadec1b7a1220a846!8m2!3d30.5578479!4d32.3388628). Can anyone show me where this older channel is? ---
**Author:** ![SoToasty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sotoasty/32/2803_2.png) [@SoToasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoToasty)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/88 "2021-03-24T18:02:41Z")
Look north of the lake. It looks like there are two canal’s there. ETA. I am not sure there is a second lane in the location the ship was stuck ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/89 "2021-03-24T18:15:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Sometimes I feel like I’m the only disaster voyeur in the world, then people drop comments like this into a thread and I realize that I am not the only one. Heh. When I was in college Memorial Drive in Cambridge, by the Harvard Bridge (which is near MIT, not Harvard) went under Mass. Ave with low clearance. Trucks would frequently ignore the signs. Their tops would get peeked back like a sardine can. Sucks for them, great fun for us. ---
**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 24, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/90 "2021-03-24T18:23:44Z")
It looks like there’s a bit of a traffic jam at the moment: [![](https://i.ibb.co/qNWvrP7/traffic-jam.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/qNWvrP7/traffic-jam.jpg) ---
**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 24, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/91 "2021-03-24T18:28:20Z")
> **[Ships being diverted to old channel after Ever Given runs aground](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/24/ships-diverted-to-old-channel-as-giant-ship-blocks-suez-canal)** > > Traffic diverted to an older channel after large ship runs aground blocking vessels passing through the busy waterway. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/92 "2021-03-24T18:29:05Z")
Thanks. I didn’t see it before. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/93 "2021-03-24T18:30:03Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Weird things happen when big ships pass close by each other, I was told that P&O tankers and bulk carriers were barred fro passing within a mile of each other in deep water. This came after a collision off Cape Town. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/94 "2021-03-24T18:33:58Z")
I see people above talking about tugs _pulling_ the ship. Pulling, where the tug is so much lower down than the deck of the ship would not be practicable. They push instead - if you look at the side of a large ship (cruise ships?) you will see the, presumably reinforced, place for the tugs to push. They are clearly marked. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/95 "2021-03-24T18:40:35Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > This happened this morning, and holy cow, this thing is WEDGED. > > [https://www.cityam.com/suez-canal-blocked-with-mega-container-ship/](https://www.cityam.com/suez-canal-blocked-with-mega-container-ship/) > > I was thinking of cracking a joke about how the captain couldn’t be bothered to get directions, but having the Suez blocked is pretty significant. > > And, of course, my paranoia is whispering to me (it’s not a clinical paranoia, just my brain being able to conceive of evil scenarios) that this is not a case of _sometimes shit happens_, it’s a case of _someone deliberately blocking the canal and the ship is actually a really HUGE floating bomb and someone is just waiting for the maximum number of emergency personnel and equipment to show up before making things go BOOM_. (There’s always a BOOM tomorrow.) > > Someone talk me down from the paranoia? > > And if anyone has ideas about how this happened in the first place or how they might be able to unwedge the ship, I’m interested. > > Oh, yeah, and if my paranoid scenario were true (instead of just my wildly overactive imagination), how big a crater would a bomb that size make, and how long would it take to repair the Suez Canal? Or would they have to dig a new one? What do you mean “bomb that size”? Like someone filled every container on the MV Ever Given with explosives? I think that’s extremely unlikely, but the DWT of the ship is over 199,000 tons. So 10x as powerful as the Hiroshima blast. I think a very small bomb the just sinks the ship and leaves it stuck in the canal would be worse. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/96 "2021-03-24T18:41:52Z")
I did find this video of the captain. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IGiQOCX9UbM/maxresdefault.jpg "Austin Powers - 3 point turn / maneuvering / parking Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGiQOCX9UbM) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/97 "2021-03-24T18:49:24Z")
So did [erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel/938516/13). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/98 "2021-03-24T20:51:52Z")
This picture was in an earlier-referenced article but I thought I’d post it directly because it’s such an amazing perspective on the magnitude of the task, showing the sheer size of that vessel compared to the figures on land and the big front end loader: [![](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210324085412-02-suez-canal-container-ship-0324-exlarge-169.jpg) ](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/210324085412-02-suez-canal-container-ship-0324-exlarge-169.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/99 "2021-03-24T22:07:40Z")
Actually they use a mix, strategically. Consider that pulling and pushing also applies a force rolling the ship slightly. This can be an advantage or disadvantage. Also you are forgetting that a tug can be on a long line meaning the angle is not as severe as you assume. Also, look at the photo above. There is no room on the starboard bow for tugs to push. Having seen the photo above I think the strategy will be to pull the stern off first - it won’t be so badly wedged - then take it slightly to port, then pull the bow out the way it went in. This means a key movement will be _astern_. You can’t push astern with tugs. You have to pull. Finally, consider that immediately after the vessel comes off it needs to be controlled and having tugs on lines is useful for that. IME, one of the key things true salvage pros remember - but others often forget - is that once you get a ship off, you need to consider carefully what happens next. If you don’t, you can end up with the ship in other forms of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516/100 "2021-03-24T22:23:54Z")
You have both, I hope, been amused by the 11-foot-8-inch bridge in Durham, NC. It’s been peeling trucks and the like for a good long while. They were able to raise it slightly not too long ago, but people are still getting peeled. > **[11 FOOT 8 - The Canopener Bridge](http://11foot8.com/)** > > The Canopener Bridge [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-suez-canal-blocked-by-a-mega-sized-container-vessel-cleared/938516.md?page=6)