Captain Gospić for HRT: Will the ship in the Suez Canal need to be emptied?

Published: March 26, 2021.

Autor: V.Š./A.P.C./HRT

Suspension of navigation through the Suez Canal

Foto: – / REUTERS

The Suez Canal is still closed to navigation due to a giant container ship that ran aground and completely stopped maritime traffic on one of the most important waterways in the world. More than 100 ships are waiting to pass through the canal, and losses for shipping companies are growing.Suspension of navigation through the Suez Canal

The Suez Canal suspended traffic in a new attempt to move the ship

Our Vladimir Šetka was contacted by the Zadar captain Alen Gospić from his LNG tanker and explained what it is about and why the monstrous ship has not been towed yet.

- The cause is probably blackout, as we know in maritime jargon, ie failure of the marine engine and rudder pump, and as it is a large ship in a relatively small maneuvering space, the final outcome is a stranding that stopped the ship. There are a lot of factors in the game that need to be addressed 

He explained that it was a large container ship 400 m long, full of containers, on 8-9 floors. 

- Its stopping distance is much longer, especially if the drive machine has failed and the speed reduction cannot be influenced, he added. 

Captain Gospić also says that the additional impulse is the wind that acts on the surface or freeboard. 

- It is the vertical distance from the sea surface to the upper uninterrupted deck, plus the floors of the containers that are exposed to the force of the winds, he added. 

For the fourth day, the tugboats have tried unsuccessfully to move the ship. 

- Such large containers perform trade operations with "couplers" which unfortunately do not exist in this case, but the containers will need to be unloaded using cranes and maons, and this procedure will probably take at least seven days, concluded Gospić.