That ship loaded with all those containers is one big ass wall. You throw enough wind at it’s broadside, it’s gonna move. Even if they did engage bow thrusters, I doubt they had enough thrust to make a difference in a narrow channel to keep it away from the bank.
At this point I’m willing to give the pilot and the steering the benefit of the doubt.
I would love to see the math of how much wind pressure was on that ship.
Don’t they measure the ships before they let them through the canal?
Agree on that one. I had the frustration of trying to keep an LPA (the modified ex USN LST USS Fairfax County) running straight and slow for an anchorage approach with a 40+ wind on the beam.
I’ve also had the unpleasant experience of loosing all power on said same ship and watch as we start drifting back towards the breakwater we had just cleared. Thankfully the tugs returned in time and kept us of the rocks long enough to restore power.
I heard on the internet than normal speed in that stretch is 8 knts. They were doing 13 to compensate for the sail effect. Lucky it’s just a big muddy ditch bank they rammed. Some are concerned about stress on the ships hull. The whole thing may bust apart if they pull the wrong way.