About the ship stuck in the Suez canal - why is it so fascinating?

It’s fascinating partly because of the size of the ship stuck. It’s also fascinating because the stuck ship is the reason why there are hundreds of ships stuck on either side of the canal. Just imagine a huge cargo ship blocking hundreds of ships. It’s very cool to watch the rescue operations happening, such as all those tow tugs and boats surrounding the stuck ship.

It’s interesting to see how much of the world’s trade passes through a single waterway. It’s interesting that much of the world’s trade still relies on ships, just as it has for centuries. For all our modern technology, trade channels operate much the same way they always have.

And then there is the factor that it is just so absurd. As the pandemic numbers start to rise again, Brazil’s health care system is about to shut down, European countries are back in lockdown, this is a uniquely “somebody really f**ked up” problem.

I find it fascinating too and in some ways, amusing. There’s something so human scaled about the errors and the disproportionate effect of the event that is compelling .Having been on a sailboat many times when there was an “oh shit” moment, this is relatable. Friends and I were joking last night that this could dwarf any embarrassing mistake or wrongdoing you ever commit and be a great get out of jail free card, “At least I didn’t get a massive cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal.”

can’t really add anything to what you guys have said. I especially liked @Janbb’s take.

@janbb “At least I didn’t get a massive cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal.”

LOL That’s just too funny. I can just hear a subordinate saying that to their boss in the year 2173!

I think it’s fascinating because the fix is going to take some incredible ingenuity, due to the size of the ship. It’s not like the containers will be easy to offload and the ship is a lightweight ship. The containers are so high up off of the height of the ground, and the ship so massive.

@smudges My friends and I were laughing all night about that line.

@jca2 There was some discussion of of emptying the fuel tanks, but the logistics of removing ballast without danger of capsize is almost impossible.

But there are some suggestions here: https://www.boredpanda.com/suez-canal-egypt-stuck-cargo-ship-memes/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=BPFacebook&fbclid=IwAR1HC2AoOiAoZKv-xR-Wy7kK8zltLDb3kpKZznZICguO_iNUZMDc24Tr9lQ

;-)

It’s amusing that a stray gust of wind has caused the world’s shipping to come to a halt but it’s also a little disconcerting.

@flutherother Pretty sure this was way more than a stray gust of wind.

It’s out!!! 3/29/32.
I think the Dutch got it out, per @rebel.

The insurance claims on that mishap will be being adjudicated for years!

Gotta wonder how the SCA is going to spin this.

of course we did. We stole a whole country from the sea! What is a giant assed ship stuck in the sand?!

Have you ever been constipated? Everyone is curious on just what kind of laxatives (dredges, pumps, shovels, amount of tugs) it’s going to take to relieve this clog without it getting real bad…like the ship capsizing. And the shape of the spray pattern of ships exiting the canal on both ends.

(Did you know that ships can only go one way at a time while in the canal?)

@kritiper “Did you know that ships can only go one way at a time while in the canal?”

All ships everywhere can only go one way at a time! lol

@chyna I have to ask…what is 3/29/32?? Is that supposed to be the date? or am I missing something?

It should have been 3/29/21. Typo! Fat fingers.

@chyna was being psychic. SCA take note!

@chyna Ok, I watch little to no news (but I do read headlines), so I thought maybe I missed something important. }8^P