Ever* ship stuck near Baltimore

[mala]

Mar 16, 2022 9:58:14 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Not only is the bay pretty shallow, the much of bottom is mud, not rocks or anything. Hence all the muck comments. Especially the upper bay. I flipped my kayak in my creek, and to stand up, my feet sank up to my knees in the muck. Although I don’t know the bottom at this point, H said he doesn’t think it’s an old oyster bed or rocks or anything. So, think of being suctioned into mud. It you watch the video above to the end, you can see the tugs show up to try to unstuck it.

I haaate swimming in the bay and touching the bottom. It is such an unpleasant texture.

[wildrice]

This is fascinating. I had no idea the bay was so shallow! It's been interesting learning (very little) about shipping since moving here a few years ago. I'm from landlocked states so it's something I really never gave any thought to. I was amazed at how huge shipping containers are too!

I wonder how in the world they are going to get it unstuck from all that muck. Seems impossible!

I too am loving the irony of the name of the ship.

[marcyiam]

I watched this a while back and found it both interesting and pretty to watch.

30-day timelapse of one of these big container ships at sea/ports.

youtu.be/AHrCI9eSJGQ

[basilosaurus]

Mar 16, 2022 11:56:37 GMT -5 marcyiam said:

I watched this a while back and found it both interesting and pretty to watch.

30-day timelapse of one of these big container ships at sea/ports.

youtu.be/AHrCI9eSJGQ

That was seriously cool. Thanks!

I lived on the Malacca Strait, but not the shipping lane portion. Every night I'd watch the squid boats light up just offshore. It gave the sky a green glow that was really otherworldly. The video mentions the boats, but due to long exposure you can't see that the bright lights are neon green.

There's a BBC documentary that follows a container called the Box that changed Britain. I haven't watched it, but my loggie partner said it was good.

[gretchenindisguise]

Mar 16, 2022 11:56:37 GMT -5 marcyiam said:

I watched this a while back and found it both interesting and pretty to watch.

30-day timelapse of one of these big container ships at sea/ports.

youtu.be/AHrCI9eSJGQ

This was fascinating. Thank you for sharing.

[ECB]

Might as well share- this is the picture DH took as he was sailing it. Just about an hour before it grounded. He texted it to me because of the sheer size!

[wawa]

Mar 16, 2022 13:09:13 GMT -5 ECB said:

Might as well share- this is the picture DH took as he was sailing it. Just about an hour before it grounded. He texted it to me because of the sheer size!

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jeeeeeesus. 

as a point of reference, remember each of those little squares is the back end of a container that's the size of the back end of a tractor trailer or train car.  

[bears]

thanks so much for sharing, ECB. It's amazing and makes me really wonder how they will get it out.

I mentioned this previously, but I wonder if they will have to take it out like the Golden Ray. That boat capsized and was stuck in the muck on its side. They had to cut it apart in sections and it took 2 years. We saw the salvage operation this summer and couldn't believe the size of it. I wonder if they will be able to refloat the Ever Forward.

Some articles on the Golden Ray and the salvage with impressive pictures:
www.caranddriver.com/news/a28961962/cargo-ship-capsizes-hyundai-kia-cars/
www.caranddriver.com/news/a36263540/golden-ray-cargo-ship-salvage-update/

[rubytue]

My goodness. Compare ECB’s photo of the ship floating to the one of it grounded on the previous page. Looks like 10+ feet of keel above the water line. 😳😳

[Birdie]

I don't know why, but the idea that such a large body of water can be so shallow gives me the creeps.

[rubytue]

Mar 16, 2022 11:53:26 GMT -5 wildrice said:

I wonder how in the world they are going to get it unstuck from all that muck. Seems impossible!

My completely uneducated guess is dredgers will be used. Maybe carve a new channel up to it, but then, so clue how it gets from the stuck point into the new channel. 🤷‍♀️

All I can thing is there is a room of army corp and coast guard engineers sitting together very stressed right now. And a bunch of contractors watching with their billable hours going 😂

[wawa]

Mar 16, 2022 13:34:34 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Mar 16, 2022 11:53:26 GMT -5 wildrice said:

I wonder how in the world they are going to get it unstuck from all that muck. Seems impossible!

My completely uneducated guess is dredgers will be used. Maybe carve a new channel up to it, but then, so clue how it gets from the stuck point into the new channel. 🤷‍♀️

All I can thing is there is a room of army corp and coast guard engineers sitting together very stressed right now. And a bunch of contractors watching with their billable hours going 😂

LOLOLOLOL.  YUP.  

Honestly given that nobody is hurt and the channel isn't even blocked this one is just making me cackle.  It shouldn't be funny, but it is.

[wawa]

Mar 16, 2022 13:26:54 GMT -5 Birdie said:

I don't know why, but the idea that such a large body of water can be so shallow gives me the creeps.

To be clear, there are lots of deeper sections.  I think 6 feet on average is not right...unless you don't count the channel??  But even if that figure is an exaggeration there's a really surprisng percentage i don't know off the top of my head that is 6 or less.

Remember that there's a truly astounding number of rivers and creeks that empty to the bay and they all have their little inlets and coves.  it's a very wrinkly coastline, so it's not like walking out into the ocean and it just stays shallow for ages, it's got all these shallow elbows and pimples. I think the stat is that there's more coast in the bay than the entire west coast of the US.  (have not verified, but it's a thing people say)   This is also why it's muck.  There's a constant flow of sediment down all those streams. 

[Birdie]

Mar 16, 2022 15:00:23 GMT -5 wawa said:

Mar 16, 2022 13:26:54 GMT -5 Birdie said:

I don't know why, but the idea that such a large body of water can be so shallow gives me the creeps.

To be clear, there are lots of deeper sections.  I think 6 feet on average is not right...unless you don't count the channel??  But even if that figure is an exaggeration there's a really surprisng percentage i don't know off the top of my head that is 6 or less.

Remember that there's a truly astounding number of rivers and creeks that empty to the bay and they all have their little inlets and coves.  it's a very wrinkly coastline, so it's not like walking out into the ocean and it just stays shallow for ages, it's got all these shallow elbows and pimples. I think the stat is that there's more coast in the bay than the entire west coast of the US.  (have not verified, but it's a thing people say)   This is also why it's muck.  There's a constant flow of sediment down all those streams. 

Oh yeah, this sounds a lot like Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake in Western Kentucky. The main channels are the old rivers and then the surrounding areas and fingerlet bays are all the flooded area. Those give me the creeps too, when we'll be driving in 6ft water and then suddenly it reads 60ft. Generally I find all bodies of dark water creepy.

[wawa]

Mar 16, 2022 15:07:51 GMT -5 Birdie said:

Mar 16, 2022 15:00:23 GMT -5 wawa said:

To be clear, there are lots of deeper sections.  I think 6 feet on average is not right...unless you don't count the channel??  But even if that figure is an exaggeration there's a really surprisng percentage i don't know off the top of my head that is 6 or less.

Remember that there's a truly astounding number of rivers and creeks that empty to the bay and they all have their little inlets and coves.  it's a very wrinkly coastline, so it's not like walking out into the ocean and it just stays shallow for ages, it's got all these shallow elbows and pimples. I think the stat is that there's more coast in the bay than the entire west coast of the US.  (have not verified, but it's a thing people say)   This is also why it's muck.  There's a constant flow of sediment down all those streams. 

Oh yeah, this sounds a lot like Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake in Western Kentucky. The main channels are the old rivers and then the surrounding areas and fingerlet bays are all the flooded area. Those give me the creeps too, when we'll be driving in 6ft water and then suddenly it reads 60ft. Generally I find all bodies of dark water creepy.

Ohhh, yep, the bay is a lot like dam reservoir lakes in that sense, with all the little side arms and inlets and weird depth changes.  you'll leave dock and it'll be like 5 feet for 20 minutes, then teens, then 20s, and then BAM 60.  and then right back up.  Though it doesnt' have the drowned towns and trees at the bottom to really up the creep factor. 

[basilosaurus]

Freshwater and brackish muck freak me out, not depth. Just a mile offshore where I grew up it goes to thousands of feet. We'd go out, kill the engine, jump overboard and drift with the boat at about 4 knots.

Cargo ships usually anchor between 2nd and 3rd reefs while awaiting a berth. This unfortunately has led to more than a few reef wrecks when they come loose. Devastating of course for the reef but not really an issue for the ship to recover from. It's not like Florida's barrier reefs have had much life in decades though.

[mala]

Y'all, I fact-checked my husband and the bay is an average of 6 METERS deep. 21 feet, which makes a lot more sense. But over 25% of the bay is 6 feet or less.

[wawa]

Mar 17, 2022 8:25:34 GMT -5 mala said:

Y'all, I fact-checked my husband and the bay is an average of 6 METERS deep. 21 feet, which makes a lot more sense. But over 25% of the bay is 6 feet or less.

that does make a lot more sense.  LOL

[aprilsails]

Mar 17, 2022 8:25:34 GMT -5 mala said:

Y'all, I fact-checked my husband and the bay is an average of 6 METERS deep. 21 feet, which makes a lot more sense. But over 25% of the bay is 6 feet or less.

That pesky metric system.

I haven’t sailed Chesapeake Bay but Lake Erie is pretty similar as far as being very shallow and large ships having to stay in the dredged channel. I was once out there in very high winds and all the container ships had to put down anchors and stop for fear of blowing out of the channel. My ship had more leeway since we only drafted 9’ but it was still a problematic Lake to cross.

And here is my story. I once grounded the ship in my profile in Georgian Bay. We were in a hard starboard tack, the wind had picked up, and the captain was frying eggs for the trainees below deck. If we tacked to port all the eggs would slide off the griddle and they weren’t done yet. I yelled down that we needed to tack to stay in the channel and he said it would be fine, we probably wouldn’t hit anything. We didn’t have GPS on the ship at the time so we couldn’t be sure where exactly the shoals were, and only the channel was marked. So we kept on. Just as the eggs were done I started a tack and we ploughed right up onto a rock 6’ below water. Luckily the keel was a steel I-beam.

To get off the rock we ‘walked’ the ship off by having all the trainees run and lean out from side to side while backing and filling the sails and gunning the engine in reverse. No problem.

That night I was at a bar in Midland and the local news had a segment with video footage of the majestic tall ship that was visiting that weekend. Someone had captured video of the ship in the distance at exactly the moment we hit the rock, popped up, and all the sails went to shit, and then 5 more minutes of the sails going every which way and the boat basically wiggling from side to side while belching out loads of diesel smoke.

Omg I’m dying laughing now. The XO and I absolutely busted a gut. I should have contacted the news agency and gotten the footage.

So I hope the EverForward didn’t run aground because of breakfast.

[gretchenindisguise]

That's a great story aprilsails. Damn eggs ruin everything.

Again and again I am amazed by the variety of lived experiences, knowledge and expertise we have on this board. I love it.

[rubytue]

Dredging has begun! And by dredging, apparently, it’s gonna be like the sand digger thing on the playground.

[wawa]

Mar 21, 2022 8:40:32 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Dredging has begun! And my dredging, apparently, it’s gonna be like the sand digger thing on the playground.

Oh, I think we saw them heading up there to get set when we crossed the bridge over the weekend!  At least, somebody's dredge barge was headed that way on Saturday.  Even from the bridge that damn ship looks huge.  Like, you have all the other usual ones hanging out to the south waiting for monday that you get over the weekends for size reference, and then that monster to the north.

[rubytue]

Just to bump a thread. It’s still there. www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-md-ar-ever-forward-stuck-in-chesapeake-20220328-4ftfvjlgxnhr3pgcvuc5k34bpm-story.html

[wawa]

Mar 28, 2022 15:20:10 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Just to bump a thread. It’s still there. www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-md-ar-ever-forward-stuck-in-chesapeake-20220328-4ftfvjlgxnhr3pgcvuc5k34bpm-story.html

we were in pasadena so we drove over to peek at it through the houses north of Downs Park.  LOL

The dredge barge looks like a lil raft next to it.

[rubytue]

I just read bits of that article to H. He then started explaining to me why this new hole just off the channel will be the next hot fishing hole. New home for the northern fishing fleet 🤣 Until it silts back over.

[ECB]

I think - if i heard DH correctly - two tug companies are sending all their tugs out tomorrow and they are going to try and free the ship. Which means DH will be on it.

[rubytue]

Mar 28, 2022 17:56:24 GMT -5 ECB said:

I think - if i heard DH correctly - two tug companies are sending all their tugs out tomorrow and they are going to try and free the ship. Which means DH will be on it.

Yes! That is what the news said tonight. Tomorrow at noon they will try it with 5 tugs. One on the back, two pushing port and two more pulling from starboard. If that fails, they will dig a bit more, and I think next week they will try again with two “pulling barges” off the aft, and another 5 tugs. 

I was wondering if your H would be involved. Go Tugs Go!

[ECB]

Mar 28, 2022 18:24:28 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Mar 28, 2022 17:56:24 GMT -5 ECB said:

I think - if i heard DH correctly - two tug companies are sending all their tugs out tomorrow and they are going to try and free the ship. Which means DH will be on it.

Yes! That is what the news said tonight. Tomorrow at noon they will try it with 5 tugs. One on the back, two pushing port and two more pulling from starboard. If that fails, they will dig a bit more, and I think next week they will try again with two “pulling barges” off the aft, and another 5 tugs. 

I was wondering if your H would be involved. Go Tugs Go!

he knows what he knows right now because of WBAL. 😂😂😂 but they are supposed to get to the ship at noon.

[rubytue]

Mar 28, 2022 18:41:42 GMT -5 ECB said:

Mar 28, 2022 18:24:28 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Yes! That is what the news said tonight. Tomorrow at noon they will try it with 5 tugs. One on the back, two pushing port and two more pulling from starboard. If that fails, they will dig a bit more, and I think next week they will try again with two “pulling barges” off the aft, and another 5 tugs. 

I was wondering if your H would be involved. Go Tugs Go!

he knows what he knows right now because of WBAL. 😂😂😂 but they are supposed to get to the ship at noon.

Ditto. So, did he guess which tug he’ll be in the graphics they showed? 😂🤣

[ECB]

Mar 28, 2022 19:01:06 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Mar 28, 2022 18:41:42 GMT -5 ECB said:

he knows what he knows right now because of WBAL. 😂😂😂 but they are supposed to get to the ship at noon.

Ditto. So, did he guess which tug he’ll be in the graphics they showed? 😂🤣

lol!! I’ll have to ask him. 😂