On the 90,000 ton supercarrier we used to enter harbor barely making steerageway. Its simply amazing to me that this 120,000 ton ship was doing 16 knots at the turn, and over 8 knots that close to the pier. I'm thinking some really bad mechanical issue, because I can't imagine any master holding an unlimited license and a licensed pilot knowingly and intentionally executing such a maneuver. Good post! Looking forward to see the follow up.
My dad was retired merchant marine chief engineer. He always told me never approach a pier any faster than you're willing to hit it. Prayers for the injured crane operator.
It's like parking lots for ordinary land motor vehicles. You move at a snail's pace in a parking lot. You give all pedestrians the right of way. You observe stop signs and directional signs. And you watch very carefully behind your vehicle for kids who don't notice that you are about to go in reverse. The slower you go, the less likely you are to break anything or kill anybody.
The right-most crane was working a container when it was hit. The operator could have been working on trailers coming in. Would they normally stop work and evacuate a pier just because a ship is arriving?
Turkish student officer here, our teachers expect us to follow maritime incidents and this one is happened right in the home. We have notes to take and a laesson to learn. This has to be discussed over and over and actions shall be taken. Thank you a million times for highlighting the topic and explanation, Dr. Mercogliano.
On the ships I sailed on with direct drive diesel engines and non-cp propellers, it was drilled into all the deck officers that ship's speed had to be 6.5 knots or slower to reverse the engine. Otherwise the air pressure was not enough to overcome the ahead freewheeling effect. We also reviewed the bridge emergency stop button location and how to use it. Sadly we (the industry) are waiting for too many investigations to complete and release their findings. I hope the crane operator recovers from the injuries.
Part of the sea worthiness trial of ships is that they need to be able to go from full ahead to full astern. Now, it makes only a minor difference in stopping length, but the ship is supposed to be able to reverse its engines (I think this class have two, though not sure) Oh just to be clear, and the chief engineer is NOT gonna be giving you prizes for doing full ahead to full astern.
@@tjampman I have sailed as licensed deck officer on 17 direct drive diesel engine container ships with engines ranging from 15,000 to 74,000 horsepower. All of them required air to either stop and reverse the cam OR shift to a reverse direction cam. The inertia of the freewheeling propellor and engine prevent the air pressure from changing engine direction.
@@pkneeno on a direct drive diesel engine, when you order "STOP" on the telegraph the fuel pumps stop delivering fuel. Between water flow around the hull/propeller and inertia, the engine/shaft/propeller continue turning.
That was a hell of a long way to fall in that crane’s cab. God bless the operator who was injured. I bet a number of folks lost their careers in this screw up. I hope nobody lost their life.
I used to inspect SemiStar motor control on a cranes like these and the are massive but what you may not think about is the machinery in the winch hut at the back. The winch drum can be 2 meters (6.6 ft) diameter and 4 meters wide (13 ft). Plus huge 6.3 kV motors brakes and equipment. Thats a lot of mass that does not want to stay up their. Very impressive engineering.
Big on big. You have think of the size of 40 ft containers and its still difficult to sense the scale from the video. Awhile lot more people could have been "affected" in bad ways. Sal: how long could it take to repair the cranes and pier?
The same as Australia, 🇭🇲 im an Australian Merchant Seafarer.I ask how did all crew in different ranks get there STCW's?,watching this recording the Seamanship was no good here.
Back in 1991 or 2 I was aboard a "handy" sized (35,000dwt) tanker(yes, a product carrier) carrying grain into Batumi, Georgia. That particular class of ships had a very fast dead slow ahead. The harbor pilot was informed of this, but between his unfamiliarity with the vessel and our unfamiliarity with the port, and before you know it I'm telling the captain that the dock we are going to is straight ahead and now around the bend. He alerted the pilot and order the engines back. We just kissed a fishing vessel that was at the dock, but caused no damage to anything. All I'm saying is just a little confusion and inattention can create havoc.
A naval aviator colleague of mine at the Naval War College was expecting after our graduation to be assigned command of a "deep draft", a fleet oiler, supply ship, or ammunition carrier, in career preparation for a follow on command of an aircraft carrier. BuPers pulled him out of our class early to immediately start the ship handling course which was located nearby at Newport. I ran into him after the first day of his new class. "What have you learned so far?" I asked him. "They told us that an aircraft carrier hitting the pier at two knots is the same impact as a Volkswagen hitting the same pier at 2,000 miles an hour." was his reply. Someone within earshot of our conversation let out a low whistle and said, "Ya'all be careful, heah?" There was a lot of truth in that judging from your video, Sal!
That's incorrect. A 100,000 ton carrier at 2 knots (1 m/s) has 50 million J of kinetic energy. A 2-ton Volkswagon at 2000 mph (890 m/s) has 790 million J of kinetic energy. A difference of more than 15 times.
@@djinn666colloquially speaking when some one in the US, especially older people, says "Volkswagen" in this context they probably mean a VW Beetle, old type 1. Those are about 1,800 pounds. And the story is an anecdote meant impress upon pupils the importance of taking it easy using round numbers to make it simple to remember when repeating it to others. No need to do the math, no one is going to actually try it. But it's 323M J if you're being pedantic about it.
@@bernadmanny Energy is energy. Though even if they both had the same energy, because of material properties of concrete, you'll probably see a bigger hole on the dock from the VW.
Going to be a TON of damage to the pier below the water line. Most big ships have a round "chin" that sticks out of the bow below the water line to reduce drag. (and that "chin" is going to be totaled too)
I drove container crane for 15 years in Seattle, one night I watched a Korean ship bow come out of the fog & within 1 yard of hitting the leg of my crane, as I was standing at the boom station halfway up the leg, I could almost reach out and touch the ship, believe me you feel pretty helpless at that point 😡
In aviation we know there are a lot of near misses that go unreported. I imagine it's true in the maritime world. I'm glad you are still here to tell this very scary story and didn't have a heart attack when you saw that bow.
I had a crane operator drop a can on my chassis hard enough to bounce me out of my seat once. Those things are huge. Had to be a wild ride down, hope the dude pulls through.
It is a good thing I watched Drachinifel's video of estimating speed from the wake, turns, and tricks of a ship. I am now qualified to pass judgment and blame! (Hope the crane operator makes a full recovery)
This is insane. You wouldn’t really think that any of this happened unless you were into this kind of stuff but ever since the key bridge collapse I am intrigued. I’m glad I found this channel.❤
Completely agree! Very interested to hear how port ops are impacted and for how long. How long do we think it will take to investigate, remove debris, conduct repairs, and get new cranes constructed? Evapport’s website has a statement up that says something to the effect of “tank and container operations continue uninterrupted” I find the container portion of that a little hard to believe. Keep it coming Sal!
There seems to be a half dozen videos on YT about ships crashing into container cranes at piers. Even more of ships crashing into docks and piers. Who knew???
I was only an engineer on merchant ships, but was a airfreight pilot and a current Cessna 206 pilot, flying into backcountry Idaho, MT, Utah airstrips. A good landing starts with a stable approach.
Yeah, even after chopping those up, you will need large cranes that can likely reach out to barge quayside to cart off the chunks to a foundry. Some insurer just took a very big hit.
Accidents have always happened but we've not always had the Internet. But there comes a point where you have to wonder if the light of humanity starting to dim. Here in sunny Scotland the signs are everywhere. That's all for today from your morale officer. Another great update from Sal.
From Wikipedia about the AT-ATs: “George Lucas later dismissed claims that the AT-AT design was inspired by container cranes at the Port of Oakland (across San Francisco Bay from ILM's San Rafael offices), calling it a "myth"; animator Phil Tippett told the San Francisco Chronicle the same thing.[7]”
Maybe, maybe not, a lot of authors, and filmmakers draw inspiration from real life things. Personally I think they are a great inspiration for such a vehicle.
I tend to believe that he was looking at it from a smaller viewpoint what would look cool on screen. That being said, I was looking at a sunset at a dock some years ago, and noticed all the cranes silhouetted in the distance looking like a bunch of AT-AT walkers.
Yeah, watching Blancolirio these days will get you to swear off flying General Aviation forever - though lately he has had plenty of commercial aviation content to cover.
The Stbd anchor was at about the 6th shot. More likely to punch the hull at about mid-ships than do anything for navigation. Hopefully the crane operator is/will be okay. Those cranes will not. Not 100% certain but I doubt there are any "off the shelf" cranes to replace this lost infrastructure. This particular pier/quay within this port facility is "OOC" for probably 12 months, if not more.
Worked on 50 and 100 gauge cranes for years, these things take years to order and replace and millions of dollars. It actually takes a massive force to move them, they routinely survive hurricanes.
There is a video of a group of new cranes in Korea being knocked over by a foreign flag vessel that wasn’t even trying to berth at the dock where they were standing. If I remember correctly there were no tugs. Ship was just wandering through the harbor. Thanks for the video. Take care.
Crazy speed to dock! I remember racing sailboats (24' racers) in San Diego; and we always dropped our sails before entering the dock area and just let "the stick" windage take us to our slip. Once, we were doing a whole 2.5 knots and worried the whole way to the slip as to how we were going to slow (no engine aboard). We made it and the scale was/is different, but even that was scary. Can't imagine the conversations taking place on the bridge of that ship at those speeds!
There's now at least 100 lawyers representing various parties focusing 100% on this event. I agree with Sal; the ship came in way too fast. A collision of one kind or another was inevitable.
I've watched an enormous (40,000 ton at the very least) container ship come in fast and hot into the Los Angeles shipping channel. My perspective was a little different: I was sailing a 2-person racing boat in San Pedro with my crew hiked out on the trapeze. Maybe doing 7-8 knots upwind with the stiff breeze we had, while the ship was moving significantly faster. The ship made a sharp right to turn from San Pedro harbor up into the narrow shipping channel, bringing her about 1/4 mile upwind of me. Piled high with containers, she suddenly stole my wind and we capsized to windward with the crew weight hiked out on the trapeze. As we went through the capsize drill to right the small boat, we came into a position behind the ship and I heard 4 blasts of her horn. Signal to BACK UP! I watched her prop spinning in reverse, churning up massive amounts of water, but I could tell the momentum of the enormous ship would not be slowed anytime soon, so I breathed easier. Container ships are FAST!
Two things I noticed, first on all the motor vessels I sailed US flag ships on would perform an astern test prior to coming into port. Second at 10kn the engine will not start in reverse. Typically 8 kn or less to be able to start in reverse and use an enormous amount of starting air.
These ships have enormous amount ls of power. Engine should start pretty easily at 8k as that is not much more than dead slow speed. Once started, the ship should stop relatively quickly compared to a bulk carrier or tanker.
It’s the boom, not the beam. It is not typical for operators to be in the crane while ships come alongside. Normally operators go up once the ship is already alongside.
@@wgowshippingI just rewatched the video, and based on something I watched recently on the history of containers, all I see hanging below that right most crane is the pneumatic bar that latches onto a container. You can tell it isn't a solid item, a container would have a name or be a color.. I think it most likely that the injured crane operator was on the ground and hit by falling debris. Otherwise I don't think anyone would have gotten to them quickly, unless, as part of a group who noticed someone was missing immediately.
@@wgowshipping Thanks for the link, I went back and watched it. The question I have is what the modems are able to transmit. Has RFID made it to the point that the container contents/bills of lading accessible to the crane? I assume it has.
That's just nonsense. And TikTok too. Angela Chao who died in the Tesla "accident" at her ranch in Texas was CEO of Foremost group AND on the board of CSSC. Run by the Chinese government. China had FAR more influence with the Chao family in Washington than any silly social media site!
@@nozrep I would say “excellent question” but it’s soooo late! 😂. I brought it up, I better put up like I knew what I was talking about. I guess one way to explain it is to imagine an arrow, one where its length is actually a quantity of energy, the arrow has both a quantity, a direction and magnitude. The vectors add up, when they do, they determine where you are in relation to other positions in space relative to another and you can plug in f=ma. The ship’s vectors kept adding up as it barrelled towards pier like the 1984 Jamaican bobsled team. The engines, anchors and tugs could not/did not produce enough energy (force) to alter the ship’s course (terminal [no pun intended] magnitude) sufficiently nor slow the ship, much less stop it. I loved physics. Please don’t ask about spaghettification until tomorrow!
@@longtabsigobobsled team lmao. Those two tugs could have been armed and bristling with cutting edge torpedoes and they wouldn't have been able to stop that freighter careening-in!
In the 1980’s I worked as an attorney for a major American aluminum company that had had a marine division owning several stretched C-2 tankers to haul bauxite and alumina. While I worked for the company it was selling off its ships. We had a contract to sell the last of them, transfer of title to occur upon arrival at the Chevron pier in Tampa, Florida to unload a backhaul cargo. Unfortunately, the throttle on the reversing turbine failed and the ship’s last act for which the company was responsible was to do $3 million in damage to the Chevron pier.
As a professional mariners it looks like some kind of mechanical failure, but of course this is pure speculation at this point. These cranes are positioned ahead of time to start off loading immediately after "all fast fore and aft and finished with engines" to not lose time. But I think it would be better to position them away from the docking area and bring them in position after docking procedures are done. This way, a lot of damage could have been prevented in my view.
That is true, but I think in this instance quay length and the ship's LOA may have been restricting factors, and there was simply no room to put the cranes clear of the ship docking area.
@sandygalbraith9491 You are correct, ports have often no place to position these cranes outside the docking area. At least they should not be occupied by the crane operator when a ship comes in for docking in my opinion.
Yes, I agree with you. That was taking an unnecessary risk for the sake of starting cargo operations a few minutes early, and someone was seriously injured as a result.@@arnobroekhoven9644
When they bought the new cranes to the Harbour near me, they bought all 4 on the same ship and offloaded them with the outgoing cranes. I can't believe how the ship stays upright, they must carry alot of ballast
Or they are just very light compared to the ship... the booms looks heavy because they are wide, to make them more rigid, as you can imagine they are empty inside.
In the 50s my farther served on the Missouri. He told me they dropped the anchor for and emergency stop. The anchor caught the bottom, played out and promptly broke.
You didn't cover the Indian Navy incident. They rescued the hijacked vessel MV Ruen in the Arabian sea. 35 Somalian pirates were captured. It was a 40 hr long operation. Indian Marine commandos were airdropped from C-17 and INS Kolkata came to the rescue. All the 17 crew members were saved and all the 35 Somalian pirates surrendered. The Somalian pirates used the vessel as a mothership for almost 3 months.
Surprised there's no cross supports on cranes of that size and height that would stabilize them against side-to-side movement. You can see a support that helps stabilize front to back movement, but not side to side. Not saying that would have prevented the accident.. but might have helped reduce the domino effect.
Most modern commercial ships can’t back operate astern propulsion unless the speed is less than 6 knots through the water. Bow thruster is not effective at speeds greater than 5 knots. It usually takes at least 3-6 minutes to make up a tug boat. Not to many options at that point
Uncle Sal, is there something that naval vessels can experience to the equivalent of a runaway diesel or turbo? I know you mentioned the crew may have "had trouble backing off" but what exactly could a scenario like that entail?
this reminded me of what an old pilot once told me about distance and speed when approaching a dock.. 'I'll take 2 feet and opening slowly over 1000 feet and closing rapidly, any time'😉
I don't know the answers to your questions, but China seems to have some pretty poorly maintained vessels. Unsurprisingly, third world armpits tend to have lax standards. We get some pretty cruddy looking foreign vessels during the shipping season here on the Great Lakes. The flags they fly don't necessarily tell you where their shipping lines are based, but we get bulk carriers from the Polish line Polsteam, various Chinese and HK flagged vessels, and other assorted Seawaymax vessels that look like garbage. Many run Canadian grain to Africa. On the other hand, we get several different kinds of Netherlands owned ships and they're usually immaculate. Same for the British flagged tankers.
Wow ! I didn’t realize the cranes were that close to where a ship could actually reach them. When they rebuild, they better move them back with more lifting capacity at a shallower angle of the boom.
Big ship handling is not in my wheelhouse. When I was taught small boat handling one of the lessons was to approach the dock at the speed you intend to hit it. Excellent coverage of the event. I’m also wondering if the captain and pilot are in custody and if the port has seized the ship and cargo to pay for damages.
Both my Dad and I worked on our local docks here in Denmark - no vast container ships, just windmill parts (wings, nacelles etc), Meat, Furs and some biofuels. We had a few smaller accidents over the years and eventually the old man took his 180lb self the quick way off of a crane, from 25ft onto the quayside. As he later pointed out, he 'did quite well for the first 24ft..' - it was the last one that did him in. I hope the insurance covers that crane operator for the lifetime of help he's likely gonna need from that height. An equivalent to that drop is probably something like a 30mp/h hit from a truck and that's assuming nothing that buckled crushed or poked him. That.. was a bad day at the office for just about all concerned.
Any possibility this was industrial sabotage?.... How long will repairs take? Four cranes out of operation is a large issue. What are the major cargos in that port?
@6:29: "The pilot does not relinquish the master from their duties and responsibilities just because the pilot is aboard" Hold- up Sal. When the "Pilot" steps aboard, he becomes the ships "Conn" or the officer responsible for navigation. Yes, the ships master is ultimately responsible for anything that happens to the ship, but movement of the vessel in a charted harbor is the responsibility of the licensed pilots of that harbor. The only thing that the Master can be guilty of is blindly trusting the Harbor Pilot. Maybe he should have given him/her a Breathalyzer and a quick 20 question navigation quiz.
I cant imagine this being a case of "Let's see how fast we can park this bad boy up the pier, shall we?" - it better had to be a malfunction or some folk should never set foot on a bridge again. 😮
On the 90,000 ton supercarrier we used to enter harbor barely making steerageway. Its simply amazing to me that this 120,000 ton ship was doing 16 knots at the turn, and over 8 knots that close to the pier. I'm thinking some really bad mechanical issue, because I can't imagine any master holding an unlimited license and a licensed pilot knowingly and intentionally executing such a maneuver. Good post! Looking forward to see the follow up.
Wat time of day it happened?
Mate an unlimited licence means jack shit you can goto one of these flag of convenience countries and buy one tomorrow
A lisense is just a piece of paper....
If it was mechanical, I feel like they would chose to turn away from the dock instead of crashing into it...
If it was mechanical, why wait so long to react?
Isn't the time to begin avoidance at the turn i to port?
My dad was retired merchant marine chief engineer. He always told me never approach a pier any faster than you're willing to hit it. Prayers for the injured crane operator.
great comment and realize that set and drift isn't going to slow you down that much either. Still cant believe 16 knts entering the basin.
It's like parking lots for ordinary land motor vehicles. You move at a snail's pace in a parking lot. You give all pedestrians the right of way. You observe stop signs and directional signs. And you watch very carefully behind your vehicle for kids who don't notice that you are about to go in reverse.
The slower you go, the less likely you are to break anything or kill anybody.
I always wait until a ship ties up before going up in the crane.
Wise move!
The right-most crane was working a container when it was hit. The operator could have been working on trailers coming in. Would they normally stop work and evacuate a pier just because a ship is arriving?
@@LatitudeSky Excellent eye. Probably not.
A bad day at the office.
Or get ready to chuck containers in the water right in front of the dock to work as a bumper... 😉
Turkish student officer here, our teachers expect us to follow maritime incidents and this one is happened right in the home. We have notes to take and a laesson to learn. This has to be discussed over and over and actions shall be taken. Thank you a million times for highlighting the topic and explanation, Dr. Mercogliano.
Do not allow any China based vessel near the port without a captain provided by the home port. They seems to be unreliable.
@@hiftu Everything chinese sucks.
On the ships I sailed on with direct drive diesel engines and non-cp propellers, it was drilled into all the deck officers that ship's speed had to be 6.5 knots or slower to reverse the engine. Otherwise the air pressure was not enough to overcome the ahead freewheeling effect. We also reviewed the bridge emergency stop button location and how to use it. Sadly we (the industry) are waiting for too many investigations to complete and release their findings.
I hope the crane operator recovers from the injuries.
Part of the sea worthiness trial of ships is that they need to be able to go from full ahead to full astern.
Now, it makes only a minor difference in stopping length, but the ship is supposed to be able to reverse its engines (I think this class have two, though not sure)
Oh just to be clear, and the chief engineer is NOT gonna be giving you prizes for doing full ahead to full astern.
@@tjampman I have sailed as licensed deck officer on 17 direct drive diesel engine container ships with engines ranging from 15,000 to 74,000 horsepower. All of them required air to either stop and reverse the cam OR shift to a reverse direction cam. The inertia of the freewheeling propellor and engine prevent the air pressure from changing engine direction.
What is 'ahead free wheeling effect"?
@@pkneeno on a direct drive diesel engine, when you order "STOP" on the telegraph the fuel pumps stop delivering fuel. Between water flow around the hull/propeller and inertia, the engine/shaft/propeller continue turning.
11 knots ? They WANTED to take out the dock !
Me : "You can't drift a cargo ship, into a parking space..."
Captain : "Hold my beer."
Ironically this happened a few years ago in Turkey as well (cargo ship drifting into a place) and Sal covered it back then as well.
@@captiannemo1587 I saw that video.
Would the anchor out make it a maritime handbrake turn parking attempt?
@@greebj The captain had a few beers after watching 'Battleship'...
Captain, why does your beer smell like barrel proof whiskey?
That was a hell of a long way to fall in that crane’s cab. God bless the operator who was injured. I bet a number of folks lost their careers in this screw up. I hope nobody lost their life.
I would say probably the equivalent of a bad car accident in an old car with no seatbelts.
Operators are very talented people 👏 ❤
I'm thinking someone is receiving a long prison sentence in Turkey
The right-most crane had a container in transit when it was hit. That was probably the occupied crane, unless they were running it remotely.
good eye
But the spreader was up in parking position?
Video really doesn't do the SIZE of the cranes justice. These things are taller than most sports arenas.
1:21 closer to the camera does a good job, you can see someone driving away and workers running. They don't even come up to that bottom cross piece.
My largest takeaway from being on top of mount Washington is that video can never convey scale. Breathtaking.
I used to inspect SemiStar motor control on a cranes like these and the are massive but what you may not think about is the machinery in the winch hut at the back. The winch drum can be 2 meters (6.6 ft) diameter and 4 meters wide (13 ft). Plus huge 6.3 kV motors brakes and equipment. Thats a lot of mass that does not want to stay up their. Very impressive engineering.
Big on big. You have think of the size of 40 ft containers and its still difficult to sense the scale from the video. Awhile lot more people could have been "affected" in bad ways. Sal: how long could it take to repair the cranes and pier?
They were immense thirty years ago and ships are bigger than ever now I imagine they're even taller than i remember.
Hey Sal in most ports, STS operators are not allowed in the cranes while there is docking. You can see why. Scott New Zealand.
The same as Australia, 🇭🇲 im an Australian Merchant Seafarer.I ask how did all crew in different ranks get there STCW's?,watching this recording the Seamanship was no good here.
Back in 1991 or 2 I was aboard a "handy" sized (35,000dwt) tanker(yes, a product carrier) carrying grain into Batumi, Georgia. That particular class of ships had a very fast dead slow ahead. The harbor pilot was informed of this, but between his unfamiliarity with the vessel and our unfamiliarity with the port, and before you know it I'm telling the captain that the dock we are going to is straight ahead and now around the bend. He alerted the pilot and order the engines back. We just kissed a fishing vessel that was at the dock, but caused no damage to anything.
All I'm saying is just a little confusion and inattention can create havoc.
A naval aviator colleague of mine at the Naval War College was expecting after our graduation to be assigned command of a "deep draft", a fleet oiler, supply ship, or ammunition carrier, in career preparation for a follow on command of an aircraft carrier. BuPers pulled him out of our class early to immediately start the ship handling course which was located nearby at Newport. I ran into him after the first day of his new class. "What have you learned so far?" I asked him. "They told us that an aircraft carrier hitting the pier at two knots is the same impact as a Volkswagen hitting the same pier at 2,000 miles an hour." was his reply. Someone within earshot of our conversation let out a low whistle and said, "Ya'all be careful, heah?" There was a lot of truth in that judging from your video, Sal!
That's incorrect. A 100,000 ton carrier at 2 knots (1 m/s) has 50 million J of kinetic energy. A 2-ton Volkswagon at 2000 mph (890 m/s) has 790 million J of kinetic energy. A difference of more than 15 times.
@@djinn666 Does the greater mass and therefore inertia make it more efficient at transfer of energy to the dock?
@@djinn666colloquially speaking when some one in the US, especially older people, says "Volkswagen" in this context they probably mean a VW Beetle, old type 1. Those are about 1,800 pounds. And the story is an anecdote meant impress upon pupils the importance of taking it easy using round numbers to make it simple to remember when repeating it to others. No need to do the math, no one is going to actually try it. But it's 323M J if you're being pedantic about it.
@@bernadmanny Energy is energy. Though even if they both had the same energy, because of material properties of concrete, you'll probably see a bigger hole on the dock from the VW.
@@d-rot It's nearly an order of magnitude difference. It's the difference between being punched by a toddler and a 250 lb gymrat.
Respect to the engineers who built that wharf! It held up remarkably well considering the mass hitting it.
Going to be a TON of damage to the pier below the water line. Most big ships have a round "chin" that sticks out of the bow below the water line to reduce drag. (and that "chin" is going to be totaled too)
Any way you look at it they didn't skimp on that pier build.
Ship gonna get dry docked thats for sure
@martylawson1638 yeah especially with all the container and extra weight. Even without all that weight it would have been damaged badly.
I drove container crane for 15 years in Seattle, one night I watched a Korean ship bow come out of the fog & within 1 yard of hitting the leg of my crane, as I was standing at the boom station halfway up the leg, I could almost reach out and touch the ship, believe me you feel pretty helpless at that point 😡
While generally frowned upon, there are absolutely times as an adult when it is acceptable to crap your pants. This would have been such a time!
Wow
Code Brown! CODE BROWN!!
I can guarantee you have some s promo I. Your natal chart. This is supernatural protection.
In aviation we know there are a lot of near misses that go unreported. I imagine it's true in the maritime world. I'm glad you are still here to tell this very scary story and didn't have a heart attack when you saw that bow.
I had a crane operator drop a can on my chassis hard enough to bounce me out of my seat once. Those things are huge. Had to be a wild ride down, hope the dude pulls through.
I hope the dockworkers are all okay.
One is not but now how does the port operate with no cranes? Those things don't come cheap and are the best method for unloading ships.
@@seanworkman431 Probably temporary road cranes or mobile dock cranes which both can have container attachment.
@@davidty2006 much slower though.
@@davidty2006 that's going to be incredibly inefficent compared with the ship to shore cranes.
@@seanworkman431 Maybe its a conspiracy to sell more cranes, they are made in China.😁
It is a good thing I watched Drachinifel's video of estimating speed from the wake, turns, and tricks of a ship. I am now qualified to pass judgment and blame! (Hope the crane operator makes a full recovery)
I'd like a link to that video, please
@@marko11kram
ua-cam.com/video/IxHMtF0cEKQ/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/IxHMtF0cEKQ/v-deo.htmlsi=jk2vQM9gPREPFquv@@marko11kram
2nd Drachinifel, that guy has added 90 mins per night to my sleep regime, and I mean that in the best way possible
I use every opportunity to bring up his name. Absolutely fascinating channel.@@yhfsywfit
This is insane. You wouldn’t really think that any of this happened unless you were into this kind of stuff but ever since the key bridge collapse I am intrigued. I’m glad I found this channel.❤
Great reporting and analysis; will look forward to seeing an update.
Completely agree! Very interested to hear how port ops are impacted and for how long. How long do we think it will take to investigate, remove debris, conduct repairs, and get new cranes constructed? Evapport’s website has a statement up that says something to the effect of “tank and container operations continue uninterrupted”
I find the container portion of that a little hard to believe. Keep it coming Sal!
There seems to be a half dozen videos on YT about ships crashing into container cranes at piers. Even more of ships crashing into docks and piers. Who knew???
Sooo, possibly intentional ~Babylon's agents spreading chaos for reward.
I don't doubt it one iota
Yeah, not the first time I've seen something like this.
Before this channel I was unaware of the chaos
Very informative Sal. Many thanks
Glad it was helpful!
I was only an engineer on merchant ships, but was a airfreight pilot and a current Cessna 206 pilot, flying into backcountry Idaho, MT, Utah airstrips. A good landing starts with a stable approach.
Last time the Turkish port operator says: "can I get a witness? "
Snickers in Turkish....kek, kek, kek.
Y M? or Why Morthomer?
Dang. Beat me to it! 😂
Probably not a Jehovah's witness
Thanks, Sal! It was a bad day for someone.
For a lotta someones 😕
Thank you for the detailed breakdown of the errors that led to this disaster. Your videos are always exceptionally well researched.
That’s a Captain Ron docking!
Imagine the cranes they'll need to get these cranes out.
Insurance companies fuming lol
Yeah, even after chopping those up, you will need large cranes that can likely reach out to barge quayside to cart off the chunks to a foundry. Some insurer just took a very big hit.
yeah, but its the populace that pays for it, with higher prices and premiums.
Tbh what *isnt* going on with shipping rn
It always has been like this, now just more publicized
Which them become “AI” driven due to “human error”
Would more tug control help reduce accidents?
If it was mechanical, the bridge crew must have been losing their collective minds. That ship was MOVING.
Accidents have always happened but we've not always had the Internet. But there comes a point where you have to wonder if the light of humanity starting to dim. Here in sunny Scotland the signs are everywhere. That's all for today from your morale officer.
Another great update from Sal.
From Wikipedia about the AT-ATs: “George Lucas later dismissed claims that the AT-AT design was inspired by container cranes at the Port of Oakland (across San Francisco Bay from ILM's San Rafael offices), calling it a "myth"; animator Phil Tippett told the San Francisco Chronicle the same thing.[7]”
Maybe, maybe not, a lot of authors, and filmmakers draw inspiration from real life things.
Personally I think they are a great inspiration for such a vehicle.
I tend to believe that he was looking at it from a smaller viewpoint what would look cool on screen. That being said, I was looking at a sunset at a dock some years ago, and noticed all the cranes silhouetted in the distance looking like a bunch of AT-AT walkers.
Now I'll definitely think twice before going up into the crane before a ship is docked and tied down. Geez!!
Love the google earth overview, considering you brought it up while I was searching for it myself in another tab.
The Port Pilot from Suez was moved here.
😂
P.s. bonus Star Wars trivia. 👍
I have known that for some time. If I ever see a container crane in the distance I go to check it out.
The only transportation expert busier than you is Juan Brown at blancolirio.
😂
Yeah, watching Blancolirio these days will get you to swear off flying General Aviation forever - though lately he has had plenty of commercial aviation content to cover.
The Stbd anchor was at about the 6th shot. More likely to punch the hull at about mid-ships than do anything for navigation. Hopefully the crane operator is/will be okay. Those cranes will not. Not 100% certain but I doubt there are any "off the shelf" cranes to replace this lost infrastructure. This particular pier/quay within this port facility is "OOC" for probably 12 months, if not more.
I could not tell of 5 or 6 shots out.
would the anchor have enough drag at that speed to get pulled alongside the hull and puncture it?
also i wondered about damage to the wharf itself.
Think 12 mos? They are trying to sell a different narrative on their website. Understandable of course
They were going with at least a 5 knot current, not ideal conditions to berth. Like a plane, a go around would have been better than a crash.
Thanks for the update Sal. Hope the crane guy makes it. 6 knots into the dock! This could have gone much worse.
Another great and informative video. Thanks for all your hard work...
Thanks again!
"it's my first day"
last day
Great info, sorry to see the incident and injuries.
Shocking Docking .
Cursing berthing.
Pier shear.
Worked on 50 and 100 gauge cranes for years, these things take years to order and replace and millions of dollars. It actually takes a massive force to move them, they routinely survive hurricanes.
That was a monster lesson on momentum!
There must have been some fast vhf communication with the tugs as soon as the brown stuff hit the fan…
😃
Whenever I drive over the Vincent Thomas bridge overlooking the port, the cranes remind me of Saurapod dinosaurs grazing.
Their natural diet of shipping containers
Now every time I drive past the port all I'm going to see are dinosaurs eating lol
There is a video of a group of new cranes in Korea being knocked over by a foreign flag vessel that wasn’t even trying to berth at the dock where they were standing. If I remember correctly there were no tugs. Ship was just wandering through the harbor. Thanks for the video. Take care.
Jesus this is getting out of control how does stuff like this keep happening
Odd coincidence's with container ships ramming into things
Crazy speed to dock! I remember racing sailboats (24' racers) in San Diego; and we always dropped our sails before entering the dock area and just let "the stick" windage take us to our slip. Once, we were doing a whole 2.5 knots and worried the whole way to the slip as to how we were going to slow (no engine aboard). We made it and the scale was/is different, but even that was scary.
Can't imagine the conversations taking place on the bridge of that ship at those speeds!
There's now at least 100 lawyers representing various parties focusing 100% on this event.
I agree with Sal; the ship came in way too fast. A collision of one kind or another was inevitable.
I've watched an enormous (40,000 ton at the very least) container ship come in fast and hot into the Los Angeles shipping channel. My perspective was a little different: I was sailing a 2-person racing boat in San Pedro with my crew hiked out on the trapeze. Maybe doing 7-8 knots upwind with the stiff breeze we had, while the ship was moving significantly faster. The ship made a sharp right to turn from San Pedro harbor up into the narrow shipping channel, bringing her about 1/4 mile upwind of me. Piled high with containers, she suddenly stole my wind and we capsized to windward with the crew weight hiked out on the trapeze. As we went through the capsize drill to right the small boat, we came into a position behind the ship and I heard 4 blasts of her horn. Signal to BACK UP! I watched her prop spinning in reverse, churning up massive amounts of water, but I could tell the momentum of the enormous ship would not be slowed anytime soon, so I breathed easier. Container ships are FAST!
Reverse is 3 x... 5 or more repeated horns mean danger (of collision).
Yes, correct. It was 3 blasts I heard. Had forgotten, it was some time ago. @@DR_1_1
I work at a port and we never have operators in our cranes when ships are docking. That should never happen
Two things I noticed, first on all the motor vessels I sailed US flag ships on would perform an astern test prior to coming into port. Second at 10kn the engine will not start in reverse. Typically 8 kn or less to be able to start in reverse and use an enormous amount of starting air.
These ships have enormous amount ls of power. Engine should start pretty easily at 8k as that is not much more than dead slow speed. Once started, the ship should stop relatively quickly compared to a bulk carrier or tanker.
It’s the boom, not the beam. It is not typical for operators to be in the crane while ships come alongside. Normally operators go up once the ship is already alongside.
Someone noted that the crane on the right was working some boxes on the pier.
@@wgowshipping it's turkey, they probably don't care about safety as much.
@@wgowshipping I’ll have to rewatch the video. Keep up the great content.
@@wgowshippingI just rewatched the video, and based on something I watched recently on the history of containers, all I see hanging below that right most crane is the pneumatic bar that latches onto a container. You can tell it isn't a solid item, a container would have a name or be a color..
I think it most likely that the injured crane operator was on the ground and hit by falling debris. Otherwise I don't think anyone would have gotten to them quickly, unless, as part of a group who noticed someone was missing immediately.
Thanks for this video! I love this channel!
"Dr Mann, do not attempt docking!"
Dr Mann: "There is a moment-"
Underrated comment.
I see Capt Ron is still teaching ship handling...
I bet he was wearin his speedo and chuggin a beer! 😆
Who is captain Ron?
@@davidlambert3892 - search captain rock boat docking
@@davidlambert3892 - he learned everything he knows driving the USS Saratoga. Yup the ol' Sara.
Have you talked about the report that ZPMC ship to shore cranes may have had unauthorized/undocumented cellular modems installed?
I did a video on it last year.
ua-cam.com/video/vWmXOEJ0rko/v-deo.html
@@wgowshipping Thanks for the link, I went back and watched it. The question I have is what the modems are able to transmit. Has RFID made it to the point that the container contents/bills of lading accessible to the crane? I assume it has.
That's just nonsense. And TikTok too. Angela Chao who died in the Tesla "accident" at her ranch in Texas
was CEO of Foremost group AND on the board of CSSC. Run by the Chinese government. China had
FAR more influence with the Chao family in Washington than any silly social media site!
Have you covered the death of Angela Chao, Sal? I may have missed it.
@@michaelrmurphy2734 has ANYONE? 🥺
_Like a glove_
Like a fat person trying to get those skinny jeans on! 😜
Another great video Sal! Thank you.
One word: physics.
Those vectors are insurmountable to overcome.
ok but what are physics vectors? been a long time since college physics and that was the end of physics for me😅 sorry!
@@nozrep I would say “excellent question” but it’s soooo late! 😂. I brought it up, I better put up like I knew what I was talking about.
I guess one way to explain it is to imagine an arrow, one where its length is actually a quantity of energy, the arrow has both a quantity, a direction and magnitude. The vectors add up, when they do, they determine where you are in relation to other positions in space relative to another and you can plug in f=ma.
The ship’s vectors kept adding up as it barrelled towards pier like the 1984 Jamaican bobsled team. The engines, anchors and tugs could not/did not produce enough energy (force) to alter the ship’s course (terminal [no pun intended] magnitude) sufficiently nor slow the ship, much less stop it. I loved physics.
Please don’t ask about spaghettification until tomorrow!
@@longtabsigobobsled team lmao. Those two tugs could have been armed and bristling with cutting edge torpedoes and they wouldn't have been able to stop that freighter careening-in!
Glad someone was there with a camera to witness it!
In the 1980’s I worked as an attorney for a major American aluminum company that had had a marine division owning several stretched C-2 tankers to haul bauxite and alumina. While I worked for the company it was selling off its ships. We had a contract to sell the last of them, transfer of title to occur upon arrival at the Chevron pier in Tampa, Florida to unload a backhaul cargo. Unfortunately, the throttle on the reversing turbine failed and the ship’s last act for which the company was responsible was to do $3 million in damage to the Chevron pier.
How much is the franchise/deductible before the ship's insurance kicks in?
great report bad incident may he recover soonest
As a professional mariners it looks like some kind of mechanical failure, but of course this is pure speculation at this point. These cranes are positioned ahead of time to start off loading immediately after "all fast fore and aft and finished with engines" to not lose time. But I think it would be better to position them away from the docking area and bring them in position after docking procedures are done. This way, a lot of damage could have been prevented in my view.
That is true, but I think in this instance quay length and the ship's LOA may have been restricting factors, and there was simply no room to put the cranes clear of the ship docking area.
@sandygalbraith9491 You are correct, ports have often no place to position these cranes outside the docking area. At least they should not be occupied by the crane operator when a ship comes in for docking in my opinion.
Yes, I agree with you. That was taking an unnecessary risk for the sake of starting cargo operations a few minutes early, and someone was seriously injured as a result.@@arnobroekhoven9644
Love your videos. Your appearance on Mooch's channel was a must see too!
Oh thank you!
Dang, prayers to dude in the crane!🙏🙏🙏
My dad was a safety inspector, I remember hearing stories when I was a child of crane operators in accidents it's not a low risk profession.
When they bought the new cranes to the Harbour near me, they bought all 4 on the same ship and offloaded them with the outgoing cranes. I can't believe how the ship stays upright, they must carry alot of ballast
Or they are just very light compared to the ship... the booms looks heavy because they are wide, to make them more rigid, as you can imagine they are empty inside.
8:15 That approach reminds me of my "wild" port entries in the game Ports of Call as a kid :D
In the 50s my farther served on the Missouri. He told me they dropped the anchor for and emergency stop. The anchor caught the bottom, played out and promptly broke.
You didn't cover the Indian Navy incident. They rescued the hijacked vessel MV Ruen in the Arabian sea. 35 Somalian pirates were captured. It was a 40 hr long operation. Indian Marine commandos were airdropped from C-17 and INS Kolkata came to the rescue. All the 17 crew members were saved and all the 35 Somalian pirates surrendered. The Somalian pirates used the vessel as a mothership for almost 3 months.
Surprised there's no cross supports on cranes of that size and height that would stabilize them against side-to-side movement. You can see a support that helps stabilize front to back movement, but not side to side.
Not saying that would have prevented the accident.. but might have helped reduce the domino effect.
Most modern commercial ships can’t back operate astern propulsion unless the speed is less than 6 knots through the water. Bow thruster is not effective at speeds greater than 5 knots. It usually takes at least 3-6 minutes to make up a tug boat. Not to many options at that point
Exactly
"Look at me. I am the captain now... oops, nevermind, you are the captain."
How come we did not hear sirens & horns going off prior to the ship hitting the peer on any of the videos?
They may have hit the horn before the crash.
Maybe sound was not recorded ?
Thanks Sal, I love watching your videos. I saw you on Ward (mooch) Carroll's channel. I have learned so much from you.
Awesome! Thank you!
Uncle Sal, is there something that naval vessels can experience to the equivalent of a runaway diesel or turbo? I know you mentioned the crew may have "had trouble backing off" but what exactly could a scenario like that entail?
Voda level of professionalism on display.
Great job explaining this!
"Ramming speed!"
Seriously though, I hope the crane operator is eventually OK.
Thanks again Sal for another informative video. ❤❤😊
this reminded me of what an old pilot once told me about distance and speed when approaching a dock.. 'I'll take 2 feet and opening slowly over 1000 feet and closing rapidly, any time'😉
Thanks always interesting, let’s hope it’s not human error, and the crane operator recovers!
Never knew why Longshoreman work paid so well... _I do now._
How common IS maritime incompetence? Are there any notably bad carriers?
Wondering that myself. Human error is a thing, but at these costs...
I don't know the answers to your questions, but China seems to have some pretty poorly maintained vessels. Unsurprisingly, third world armpits tend to have lax standards.
We get some pretty cruddy looking foreign vessels during the shipping season here on the Great Lakes. The flags they fly don't necessarily tell you where their shipping lines are based, but we get bulk carriers from the Polish line Polsteam, various Chinese and HK flagged vessels, and other assorted Seawaymax vessels that look like garbage. Many run Canadian grain to Africa.
On the other hand, we get several different kinds of Netherlands owned ships and they're usually immaculate. Same for the British flagged tankers.
Wow ! I didn’t realize the cranes were that close to where a ship could actually reach them. When they rebuild, they better move them back with more lifting capacity at a shallower angle of the boom.
Big ship handling is not in my wheelhouse. When I was taught small boat handling one of the lessons was to approach the dock at the speed you intend to hit it.
Excellent coverage of the event. I’m also wondering if the captain and pilot are in custody and if the port has seized the ship and cargo to pay for damages.
Great analysis thanks so much 🙏 Prayers for the crane operator.
Both my Dad and I worked on our local docks here in Denmark - no vast container ships, just windmill parts (wings, nacelles etc), Meat, Furs and some biofuels. We had a few smaller accidents over the years and eventually the old man took his 180lb self the quick way off of a crane, from 25ft onto the quayside. As he later pointed out, he 'did quite well for the first 24ft..' - it was the last one that did him in. I hope the insurance covers that crane operator for the lifetime of help he's likely gonna need from that height. An equivalent to that drop is probably something like a 30mp/h hit from a truck and that's assuming nothing that buckled crushed or poked him. That.. was a bad day at the office for just about all concerned.
I've been staring at your Globe for about a month now. That thing is awesome.😊
Any possibility this was industrial sabotage?.... How long will repairs take? Four cranes out of operation is a large issue. What are the major cargos in that port?
I’m surprised a ship like this is under its own power in this scenario.
@6:29: "The pilot does not relinquish the master from their duties and responsibilities just because the pilot is aboard"
Hold- up Sal. When the "Pilot" steps aboard, he becomes the ships "Conn" or the officer responsible for navigation.
Yes, the ships master is ultimately responsible for anything that happens to the ship, but movement of the vessel in a charted harbor is the responsibility of the licensed pilots of that harbor.
The only thing that the Master can be guilty of is blindly trusting the Harbor Pilot. Maybe he should have given him/her a Breathalyzer and a quick 20 question navigation quiz.
I cant imagine this being a case of "Let's see how fast we can park this bad boy up the pier, shall we?" - it better had to be a malfunction or some folk should never set foot on a bridge again. 😮
If they can't slow down that beach/shoreline looks like less of a liability than hitting cranes/dock. It will be interesting to see why it happened.
I always wonder how much language can be a problem, if the Pilot, and the Captain of the vessel don’t actually speak the same language.
No coffee for the pilot!
Do you think this was a communication problem?
Should be done in English. Same as air traffic control, for that very reason.
@@Dilbert-o5k If you want all air traffic control to be in English, argue with the ICAO, who make the laws. They have 6 official languages.
Thanks Sal. Interested to see what it was.