Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Breaking News
posted by martyb on Monday March 29 2021, @02:39PM   Printer-friendly

[Updated 2021-03-29 19:40:51 UTC] Ed. note: At the time of originally writing this story, the only information I could find on the ship's freeing was from directly watching it happen in real time. As originally reported here, that was on VesselFinder.com. There had been some reports last night of Ever Given having been freed, but those were later retracted. News reports were, therefore, suspect. The ship was still stuck. But then I was able to see it underway! I was also monitoring our news feeds and failed to find any reports concurrent with the apparent time of the ship's freeing. Again, the only certain information I had was watching it unfold online. In the interest of getting this breaking news to the community, accurately, and as quickly as possible, I could only refer the information I had at hand.

I'd read discussions elsewhere suggesting various approaches for freeing the ship, none of which held up to closer scrutiny. It's not just a matter of "pull harder!" The structural integrity of the ship was in question. A ship of that size undergoing an abrupt stop due to impact had the distinct possibility of breaking open and sinking. That would make the situation much, much worse. That it did no happen immediately was fortuitous. It was very much possible that a hasty attempt to free it could break it apart and sink it. That would make things much worse. Careful planning was required. Hence, the inclusion of a memorable example of Smit Salvage's successful raising of the Kursk. They knew what they were doing. Anything we could come up with was certainly already considered.

[Update 2] It's a few hours later and I'm finally seeing reports in the regular media that contains more detail. Take a look at Ship stuck in Suez Canal is freed: Everything you need to know. Sadly, even that lacks the details that I want to see. Just how did they get it free? How much and what kinds of equipment did they use? What process did they follow? What ideas did they consider and then reject, and why? If you come upon these kinds of details, please post them to the comments! --martyb

The original story appears below.

According to real-time updates, the container ship "Ever Given" has now been freed and is under way:

You can follow its progress at VesselFinder.com. (The web site seems to be struggling under the load.) At the moment of this writing, it is heading on a Course of 349.2° (nearly due north) at a speed of 2.3 knots.

It is headed to Great Bitter Lake. Once there and out of the path of other shipping, it will undergo technical inspections.

According to various reports, the Suez Canal carries anywhere from 10-15% of the world's shipping. The effort to dislodge the ship is led by Smit Salvage who is renowned in the ship salvage industry. They successfully took on the task of raising the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk. Powered by two nuclear reactors, it sank August 14, 2000 while a full complement of torpedoes and missiles.

What Next?
How will the backlog of hundreds of ships be prioritized for passage? That backlog is clearly visible from space. The canal's capacity is on the order of 55 ships per day. Will they take each ship first-come first-served? What about perishable and time-sensitive cargo? Take advantage of supply and demand to set up a bidding war? With the whole world watching and second guessing every decision, what should they do?

Previously:
Grounded 'Mega Ship' Blocking Suez Canal in Both Directions -- How Would You Get It Free?


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday March 29 2021, @04:10PM (6 children)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Monday March 29 2021, @04:10PM (#1130793) Homepage
    > Where's the story what have they done to free the ship?

    They dug.
    With diggers.
    Lots.

    There you go, 3 sentences - that's more than the number devoted to the Kursk, just to keep you happy.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday March 29 2021, @04:24PM (2 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 29 2021, @04:24PM (#1130800) Journal

    They dug.

    How deep? What did they found?

    With diggers.

    No dredgers? That's stupid.

    Lots.

    Ah, you mean, when they build the canal?
    Otherwise, how did they fit that many around a single ship bow? Are diggers compressible or what?

    There you go, 3 sentences - that's more than the number devoted to the Kursk, just to keep you happy.

    Your short interjection into the story brought a nothingburger, but thank you for keeping it short.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday March 29 2021, @04:37PM (1 child)

      by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Monday March 29 2021, @04:37PM (#1130809) Homepage
      No, they dug lots. From the photos, it seemed that there was only one active digger. Digging lots. Dredger came later only later, it seems.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday March 29 2021, @04:47PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 29 2021, @04:47PM (#1130818) Journal

        I had a page loaded with a short video that showed 4 trackhoes in one frame, then 4 trackhoes in another frame. It looked like there were two quite large and one medium large (the one in the first photos) trackhoes actually digging right up against the ship, then there were two other trackhoes moving that dug material further back from the bank. At no point were all five trackhoes captured in the same frame, but I think there were five total.

        As for dredgers, I think there were three of them working close to the bow. It's not as clear what purpose each boat has in the pictures.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 29 2021, @05:31PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 29 2021, @05:31PM (#1130846)
    I was wondering since it's a canal can't they use stuff that's anchored to the ground to pull at the ship instead of tugboats?
    • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Monday March 29 2021, @05:48PM (1 child)

      by RS3 (6367) on Monday March 29 2021, @05:48PM (#1130858)

      The "ground" is mostly sand, so nothing is very well anchored. And even for something that's well anchored, maybe to bedrock, that ship is huge- the tugboats are the right thing to use.

      Thinking about it, and I'm not a civil engineer, but it's probably worth looking into building some kind of large well-anchored pulling stations for just this kind of problem.

      Anyone know: have they been lax about dredging the Suez Canal?

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Monday March 29 2021, @07:47PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 29 2021, @07:47PM (#1130889) Journal

        Anyone know: have they been lax about dredging the Suez Canal?

        I want to say that's a funny question. I'll have to put it into context to get the humor across, don't mean to be a smartass exactly. The Ever Given is part of Evergreen's Golden class of container ships. They are the largest in the world. Her draught is listed at 15.7 meters, or about 16 yards, or about 50 feet. If the dredging in the canal has been lax, the Ever Given would be among the first ships to get mired in the bottom. Her sister ship, Ever Globe, is soon to be the third ship out of the canal going southbound.

        If fact, they have apparently been working hard to widen and deepen the canal, as well as building an alternative route on the nothern section. I see no laxness. ;^)

        BTW, the YM Wish has exited the confines of the canal, and is heading south into the Red Sea as I type. That is one heck of a traffic jam to navigate through!