Suez Canal blockage, and should a new diversionary canal be built?

[OVS Flatbottom]

A forty foot wide train would certainly be impressive... Realistically I can't imagine it would be practical building a rail line to that gauge from Asia to Europe. And the delays of transhipping would mean there would be no point in building a short line across suez, given the canal already exists.

There are all sorts of ways that railway technology would change and potentially stop working with a wider gauge. For a start the axle load would be much more, so you'd need multiple wheels or fatter wheels running on wider rails. The tightest practicable curve is also a certain number multiplied by the track gauge, so wide-gauge railways would be much less flexible in terms of alignment. It's been said that Hitler's broad gauge railways were totally impracticable, and the engineer tasked with designing them knew that, but given the alternatives I assume they preferred to carry on working on it.

I believe I once read that there was a rail-based proposal for the Suez isthmus in the 19th century, before the canal was constructed, which involved a whole series of parallel standard-gauge tracks carrying a cradle into which the entire ship was loaded, hauled by what would presumably have been a small fleet of steam locos for each vessel. (Predictably, it got nowhere, even at a time when ships were much, much smaller.) I can't find reference to this online, but I think it's mentioned in Durrant's book Steam in Africa.

 

[TheEdge]

I believe I once read that there was a rail-based proposal for the Suez isthmus in the 19th century, before the canal was constructed, which involved a whole series of parallel standard-gauge tracks carrying a cradle into which the entire ship was loaded, hauled by what would presumably have been a small fleet of steam locos for each vessel. (Predictably, it got nowhere, even at a time when ships were much, much smaller.) I can't find reference to this online, but I think it's mentioned in Durrant's book Steam in Africa.

Fun fact. The first ever recorded example of a proto-railway was exactly that, the Diolkos, crossing the Isthmus of Corinth, first recorded around 600BC.

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

What, unload 20 000 containers, put them on 200 trains, then back on another ship? Madness! My suggestion would be one-way traffic through the canal, then even bigger bigger ships could be used. Perhaps all the half-empty ships going back to the far east could go via the Cape of Good Hope. Capacity doubled, simples %)

Traffic in the Suez Canal is organised into one-way convoys which pass each other in the Great Bitter Lake and the segment with two lanes. Ships are already too big to pass in opposite directions in the same canal lane.

 

[AndyPJG]

Having looked on Google at the Suez Canal, there seem to be some interesting floating swing bridges. Basically the road appraoch, then a pier, then a floating bit which is hinged at the pier and swings through 90 degrees.

There are also high level fixed bridges and a swing rail bridge with halves on each bank (rather than a central island and a large balanced structure).

Fascinating stuff, thank heavens for the internet and Google Aerial and Streetview (others are available).

and a tunnel under the canal, and an 'inverted siphon' * to take a water supply canal under the ship canal.

* think of it as an aqueduct

 

[edwin_m]

You could put caissons (or whatever the proper name is - mules?) both sides and pump them out, but you have to get sufficient cable or chain passed under the ship to lift its weight: quite a tall order. I think the problem is that the ship has ridden up the bank at both ends, so it seemed to me that it would be easier to support the ship's length on water (what it is designed to do) and reduce the risk of it breaking its back.

Perhaps they could build a pile wall all the way round the ship, crossing the canal fore and aft and enclosing the bow and stern on land too. Then they could seal it off at high tide and start pumping water in to raise the level within, until the ship floated off and could be turned to the correct orientation. Then just let the water out and remove the wall. Simples!

 

[AndrewE]

Perhaps they could build a pile wall all the way round the ship, crossing the canal fore and aft and enclosing the bow and stern on land too. Then they could seal it off at high tide and start pumping water in to raise the level within, until the ship floated off and could be turned to the correct orientation. Then just let the water out and remove the wall. Simples!

Wouldn't sinking a couple of big barges across the canal be quicker and easier than installing a sheet-pile cofferdam? How much reinforcement (back-fill or girders) would a sheet-pile dam need to raise the water-level a metre or so? (Admittedly that was my first idea too.)
The sunken barges would probably be easier and quicker to pump out and raise afterwards too - they would also have lateral stability, unlike a sheet-pile cofferdam which would need reinforcement behind it.
If filling the canal brim-full between the barges didn't give enough lift then I guess you could put more piling in all around the job to raise the water level even higher.

 

[Vespa]

All moot now as the ship is now free and floating.

Bit of elbow grease and swearing was all it took

 

[ExRes]

Not that we're ever likely to see the true non-media cost of this event of course, but I wonder how much it's actually cost in delays versus the phenomenal price of building a diversionary canal

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Not that we're ever likely to see the true non-media cost of this event of course, but I wonder how much it's actually cost in delays versus the phenomenal price of building a diversionary canal

Quite. The media may well try to guesstimate the overall value of what's carried through the canal over a full calendar year, which would be far too high a figure.

 

[BayPaul]

Not that we're ever likely to see the true non-media cost of this event of course, but I wonder how much it's actually cost in delays versus the phenomenal price of building a diversionary canal

Much like diversionary railways, a diversionary canal would be very unlikely to be able to pay for itself on that basis, after all this is the only closure of the canal since the suez crisis.
I could see the logic in increasing the amount of 'duel carriageway' canal. About 30km at each end is currently single canal. If that could all be doubled, the convoy system could be ended which would massively increase capacity and flexibility (currently the canal acts like a single track railway with a long passing loop in the middle, and similar capacity and scheduling challenges).

 

[ainsworth74]

Much like diversionary railways, a diversionary canal would be very unlikely to be able to pay for itself on that basis, after all this is the only closure of the canal since the suez crisis.

Since Six-Day war in 1967 when the canal was closed from June 1967 to June 1975. But yes, hardly a common occurrence and this is the first closure I'm aware of outside of war and it's aftermath so a terrible reason to build a diversionary route!

 

[Ediswan]

About 30km at each end is currently single canal. If that could all be doubled, the convoy system could be ended which would massively increase capacity and flexibility (currently the canal acts like a single track railway with a long passing loop in the middle, and similar capacity and scheduling challenges).

A handy animation of the current convoy system, with N to the left:

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

I thought that it was handy too, which is why I posted it in the thread yesterday.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How does the Channel tunnel (railway) normally operate?

Two tracks throughout (but a few crossover points for "wrong direction" movements between sections in case of need?)

 

[Bald Rick]

How does the Channel tunnel (railway) normally operate?

Two tracks throughout (but a few crossover points for "wrong direction" movements between sections in case of need?)

Yes - the crossovers are used when any one section of one line is taken out for maintenance,(usually overnight). Occasionally the crossovers need maintenance, and then two consecutive sections are taken out. (At very quiet times).

Only very, very occasionally are both lines closed, and then, of course, the continent is cut off

 

[Ediswan]

I thought that it was handy too, which is why I posted it in the thread yesterday.

I took the day off social media yesterday

Will there be a new canal dug as a result ? Highly unlikely. Far more likely that the pilots will practice this scenario in their simulator, to make sure it never happens again. Or add tugs for the most vulnerable transits.

Any new canal digging would be driven by long term increase in demand. Part of the northern section was doubled in 2015. If there is money to be made, the digging will start.

 

[AndrewE]

One report that I read (sorry, can't find it now) said that we are probably past peak shipping, or maybe it just said that shipping companies have bought far more capacity than is likely to be needed and some will inevitably go bust.
The friction with China, Coronavirus and this latest reminder of how vulnerable western companies are to fragile world-wide supply chains is making them re-examine whether apparently-cheaper remote production is such a good idea after all.
I can't see a downside, other than slightly more expensive consumer goods. If that in turn stops people repeatedly buying rubbish and throwing it away every year or two then what's not to like?
Make stuff locally, repair locally when (if) needed and half the shipping need evaporates - and real local employment goes up!
It almost makes me optimistic!
A

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

One report that I read (sorry, can't find it now) said that we are probably past peak shipping, or maybe it just said that shipping companies have bought far more capacity than is likely to be needed and some will inevitably go bust.

Was it this piece from the Guardian?

Stranding of Ever Given in Suez canal was foreseen by many – analysis

Analysis: As ships have ballooned in size, worst-case scenario was flagged up by organisations such as OECD

www.theguardian.com

 

[AndrewE]

That's it, thank you. The bit that caught my eye was

Megaships have been described as a “bet on globalisation” made in the heady days of the mid-2000s, as a rising China and a US apparently at ease with outsourcing helped to drive a boom in global trade. Shipping companies expected the era would last and invested in new, vastly larger ships to accommodate it.

Then came a financial crash, a populist western backlash against free trade and a lingering coronavirus pandemic that has put millions out of work.

Yet shippers have increased their bet, continuing to order giant new vessels that allow them to move more stuff with less fuel and crew, even as organisations such as the OECD have questioned the rationality of the trend.

There was a “complete disconnect of ship size development from developments in the actual economy”, the organisation said in a 2015 report, pointing out that ships were growing larger in “an economic climate that is generally depressed and at best stagnating”.

“The trade growth to absorb ship developments is currently absent,” the OECD paper said. “Shipping lines are building up overcapacity that will most likely be fatal to at least some of them.”

 

[Vespa]

One report that I read (sorry, can't find it now) said that we are probably past peak shipping, or maybe it just said that shipping companies have bought far more capacity than is likely to be needed and some will inevitably go bust.
The friction with China, Coronavirus and this latest reminder of how vulnerable western companies are to fragile world-wide supply chains is making them re-examine whether apparently-cheaper remote production is such a good idea after all.
I can't see a downside, other than slightly more expensive consumer goods. If that in turn stops people repeatedly buying rubbish and throwing it away every year or two then what's not to like?
Make stuff locally, repair locally when (if) needed and half the shipping need evaporates - and real local employment goes up!
It almost makes me optimistic!
A

Brexit has most certainly brought that into focus, our reliance on remote supply chain is vulnerable to disruptions, perhaps some number crunching would be needed to work out the cost benefit of shipping v production closer to home.

 

[PTR 444]

Looks like The Guardian has jumped ship now (excuse the pun)

'Suez 2'? Ever Given grounding prompts plan for canal along Egypt-Israel border

UK prepared to play leading role in project given new impetus by Ever Given blockage, say sources

www.theguardian.com

The blockage of the Suez canal by the beached Ever Given container ship has prompted fresh international efforts to find an alternative to the world’s most important shipping corridor.

UN officials are understood to be reviewing plans to construct a new canal along the Egypt-Israel border, having previously dismissed ideas for a much longer route through Iraq and Syria as too hazardous.

The blockage of the Suez canal is estimated to have cost hundreds of millions of pounds, as well as threatening Europe’s vital supply chains from Asia, bringing everything from toilet roll and iPhones to takeaways and PPE.
The UN had previously commissioned a feasibility study from the international tunnelling company OFP Lariol, which estimated “Suez 2” could be dredged within five years.
The canal would run in a near straight line into the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea.
“Technology has moved on considerably since the excavation of the first canal in the 1850s,” said the study’s author, Iver Shovel.
“A separate issue is the slight fall in sea levels in the Mediterranean that may happen once we flood the new canal, which could lead to wider and longer beaches.”

 

[Bald Rick]

Looks like The Guardian has jumped ship now (excuse the pun)

'Suez 2'? Ever Given grounding prompts plan for canal along Egypt-Israel border

UK prepared to play leading role in project given new impetus by Ever Given blockage, say sources

www.theguardian.com

Ha!

OFP Lariol?

Ivor Shovel...

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Not quite up there with their seven page special on San Serriffe (1977).

 

[swt_passenger]

Ha!

OFP Lariol?

Ivor Shovel...

Mo Sez. Expert in water division management...

 

[AndrewE]

Not quite up there with their seven page special on San Serriffe (1977).

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be... I still have my copy stored safely somewhere. But 7 pages? it was a pull-out supplement: maybe I missed that joke even back then.
I don't get the OFP Lariol bit, I got as far as Iver Shovel before the penny dropped.
I liked

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the plans, which are being overseen by the UN committee for Trade Routes Uniting Economies.[UNTRUE]

Sources said the UK would be prepared to play a leading role in any project to help “level up the region and build back better”.

and especially

“We have the expertise and could share our preliminary designs for the proposed tunnel links to Northern Ireland,” said an official, who also pointed to the prime minister’s successful track record in large-scale infrastructure projects.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Ignoring the date and gag, if a second channel were necessary (for capacity or emergency blockage reasons), completing the dualling of the exisitng canal would seem the most sensible as the management infrastructure is in place (management, co-ordination, pilots, tugs etc).

Yet again, logged out without my choosing to do so, whilst typing, and lost what I had written!

Something about not realising how much of the canal had already been dualled and how Bing Aerial Imagery is somewhat less up to date than Google.
Also would you build a separate alignment for a single track rail line or dual an existing one?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I don't get the OFP Lariol bit, I got as far as Iver Shovel before the penny dropped.

OFP Lariol = Gullible person (Anagram) (5,4)

 

[AndrewE]

Doh! Thanks, I suppose that if your mind doesn't work that way then it doesn't jump out at you.

 

[Bald Rick]

OFP Lariol = Gullible person (Anagram) (5,4)

My all time favourite was a BMW advert in the early 80s, explaining new technology that could tell the pressure of your tyres and display it on the dashboard (obviously, this became real about a decade later!).

The BMW technical people who developed it were Paul D Uddervon, and Dr Uwe Adjörl-Egpuld

 

[ABB125]

OFP Lariol = Gullible person (Anagram) (5,4)

They're a "loop flair"?

My all time favourite was a BMW advert in the early 80s, explaining new technology that could tell the pressure of your tyres and display it on the dashboard (obviously, this became real about a decade later!).

The BMW technical people who developed it were Paul D Uddervon, and Dr Uwe Adjörl-Egpuld

I'm trying to work out what the names are anagrams of (assuming they are), but failing miserably! Pray tell!

(Although "Adjörl-Egpuld" is an absolutely cracking surname! Sounds rather more Swedish than German though...)