# Ship Destroys Crane in Busan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 19, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121 "2020-04-19T13:41:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/1 "2020-04-19T13:41:24Z")
This actually happened way back on April 6th, but I found out about it recently. [Containership Takes Out Crane in Busan, South Korea](https://www.rokdrop.net/2020/04/containership-crashes-into-loading-crane-at-busan-harbor/) > [@](#): > > A major accident was caught on camera today at the Port of Busan today when a containership struck multiple shoreside gantry cranes and another ship while berthing. > > The video shows the Milano Bridge approaching its berth with the assistance of tugs at Busan New Port. In the video, you can one of the cranes collapse over the stern of the Milano Bridge. Another two cranes were also impacted along with a second ship, identified Seaspan Ganges. > > No injuries were reported. _More, including videos, at the link._ ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/2 "2020-04-19T13:47:54Z")
I didn’t know ships could give berth. :flees: ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/3 "2020-04-19T13:52:31Z")
That little white van was pretty lucky… ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/4 "2020-04-19T13:55:03Z")
Aw, man. I hate parallel parking. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/5 "2020-04-19T14:04:44Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Aw, man. I hate parallel parking. Ya gotta go up parallel to the ship ahead and then back her in to the spot. I wonder if “Vonga!” mean “Idiot” in Korean. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/6 "2020-04-19T14:08:22Z")
And ship appears to be on full power even after it takes out the crane. I suspect engineering problem from bridge to engine room. Or a very drunk cap. Wouldn’t they be using harbor pilots to dock that? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/7 "2020-04-19T14:10:38Z")
Inertia is a bitch… ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/8 "2020-04-19T14:11:22Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Ya gotta go up parallel to the ship ahead and then back her in to the spot. > > I wonder if “Vonga!” mean “Idiot” in Korean. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA seems to be universal ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/9 "2020-04-19T14:12:12Z")
“Hello, Allstate?” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/10 "2020-04-19T14:14:25Z")
The drunk captain was [the Russian dude who crashed his ship into Gwangan Bridge in February last year](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hg2XLR65SM). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/11 "2020-04-19T14:23:51Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The drunk captain was [the Russian dude who crashed his ship into Gwangan Bridge in February last year](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hg2XLR65SM). No way ship could have gone under any part of that bridge. Looks like he took a wrong turn. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/12 "2020-04-19T14:25:49Z")
When’s the last time they checked the brakes on that boat? ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/13 "2020-04-19T14:26:32Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I didn’t know ships could give berth. > > :flees: They’ll dock you pay for that. : also flees : ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/14 "2020-04-19T15:02:22Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Aw, man. I hate parallel parking. Thank you. That post brought a smile to my face. > [@QuickSilver](#): > > I wonder if “Vonga!” mean “Idiot” in Korean. 바보 (ba-bo) and 병신 (byeong-shin) are the two favorites for that; the latter one is considered pretty vulgar. > [@enipla](#): > > And ship appears to be on full power even after it takes out the crane. I suspect engineering problem from bridge to engine room. It’s hard to tell as the props will still churn up some water even if they’re reversed. And it takes quite some distance for a ship to change course or stop. > [@](#): > > Wouldn’t they be using harbor pilots to dock that? I’m curious about that also. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/15 "2020-04-19T15:22:05Z")
They would almost certainly be using a harbour pilot who would have come aboard well before approaching the dock. They are assisted by two tug boats that were tethered to the ship at bow and stern. The stern tug was being dragged until the tether was snapped by the fallen crane. Impossible to tell what actually went wrong but it does appear to be that they came in to the dock a bit hot. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/16 "2020-04-19T15:29:34Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I didn’t know ships could give berth. > > :flees: > [@dogbutler](#): > > They’ll dock you pay for that. > : also flees : But only if you’re convicted by a jury of your piers. : joins in the flight : Ships seem to have this problem coming in to fast: See this little piece from last June…[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmQbEgUVz40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmQbEgUVz40) ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/17 "2020-04-19T15:50:41Z")
You watch something like this and really have to wonder how in the hell two tugboats and a harbor pilot can get it so wrong. I’ve never been on a big ship in my life but I know enough to go slow and be so well in control that you can stop dead in an emergency. If I owned those cranes (or the other ship), wringing the harbor pilots neck wouldn’t be good enough. I’d want to shoot him. I’ll say it again: I really can’t grasp how things like this happen. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-destroys-crane-in-busan/852121/18 "2020-04-20T01:56:51Z")
Big ships do not and cannot “stop dead in an emergency”. Ever hear of kinetic energy? Remember your driver’s ed course way back when. Even with brakes, great tires, and a solid surface, there is no stopping on a dime. The [cool videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsK2zrNYx0M) you see online of [impressive slides into very close spaces](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2512Ncsvkmc&pbjreload=10) are the result of quite a lot of calculation and practice. [Here is a fun PDF to explain stopping distance for automobiles](https://nacto.org/docs/usdg/vehicle_stopping_distance_and_time_upenn.pdf). This, obviously, is not going to happen on the ocean with a vessel weighing in the tens of thousands of tons. The tug boats do a combination of pushing and shoving, not actually tugging. Even that is something that takes quite some distance to bring the ship to a halt. You also have to consider the mass of the tugs, the power the tugs expend, and the distance from the desired stopping point (in reality, more of a stopping area, somewhat like between the lines in a parking lot, but with really big distances between the lines in comparison to the size of the cars). Every time I saw or had to participate in line handling, once the tugs got the ship in the stopping area, the line handlers were the ones to actually pull (“tug”) the ship close to the pier for the brow to be positioned.