Yes I remember…
Article mentions this as the cause:
The SCA said the ship was caught up in a sandstorm, a common occurence in Egypt’s Sinai desert at this time of year, blotting out light and limiting the captain’s ability to see.
It was “mainly due to the lack of visibility due to the weather conditions when winds reached 40 knots, which affected the control” of the ship, the SCA said in a statement.
On the other hand with no visibility in a straight canal it is best to try to keep the ship exactly on the last gyro course.
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Turns out the ship first drew a dick in the Red Sea and then cockblocked the whole Suez Canal…
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Another dick parade. Must have been party time…
Looks like drifting downwind then using the engine to regain position. Remaining in the same area but without anchoring.
It’s not an uncommon maneuver. Seems somewhat odd in this particular area.
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Current weather in Passage Suez Canal ( Mar 22 , 2021 )
The wind was blowing at a speed of 6,2 meters per second (13,8 miles per hour) from west/northwest (290°). The atmospheric pressure was 1009 hPa (29.80 inHg). The relative humidity was 35,0 %. … The overall visibility was greater than 10 kilometers.
Favorable weather conditions, no mention of bad visibility due to sand storms.
From ‘myshiptracking.com’
At incident time and position, southerly wind 20/22 knots.
Ship’s speed in knots:
12.9 - at lower pair of buoys, near ‘12MT’
12.9 - at center pair of buoys, near ‘KM 152’
13.0 - just above of ’KM 152.000’
13.0 - next point
12.8 - near ‘ 12MT’
12.5 - between buoy pair south of grounding
08.8 - just right of green buoy at grounding site
00.0 – after the short way to port
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With one p less the link works but you have to login…
I guess that none of the salvage vessels carry or utilize Beach Gear anymore. The tractive force for a pull is greatly enhanced with the use of it. The USN used to carry it and were good at it (arguably the best in the world) until they basically got rid of Navy operation and expertise of the salvage ships to the MSC.
Granted this a HUGE ship, but it could be done with the correct calculations and planning. The Salvage Chief in Astoria Oregon has pulled quite a few fully grounded ships and barges off the beach with her ground tackle in roaring surf, rocky shores, and sand.
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News reports say it is moving again. Can’t verify.
The AIS does not move, now.
I think this ship is deeply entrenched at the bow, when arriving at 12 knots and then rotating.
After that, the stern continued to advance sidewise by inertia and buried itself.
The midship is floating free.
Longitudinal movements to disengage the ship are not possible.
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It is thinkable that the impact of the stern ploughing into the sand caused damage to the rudder and/or, perhaps still rotating, propeller. That would be the day.
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Reuters is reporting from the Agents that the ship is partially refloated. Has been moved to the side of the canal bank.
Couple of ground anchors and a Spanish windlass, no worries.
Perhaps it is time to reactivate The Yellow Fleet ?
The 200,000-tonne Ever Given has not been partially re-floated, authorities said after providing inaccurate information about the rescue operation earlier.
Fake news is alive and well. That thing is stuck pretty good.
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Any real force applied to the vessel will probably require some fabrication of suitable attachment points as I doubt the ship fittings apart from the windlass foundations would be sufficient.
The other problem I see is the path of least resistance in freeing the vessel would be to move the ship in the same path as she followed going aground. This would mean a pull from the starboard quarter would probably be best achieved with beach gear.
Moving the bow to port could require dredging.
The sheer displacement involved is going to make this a first in salvage practice.
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