Big ship barely squeezes under bridge

[Prince Valiant]

Largest cruise ship in the world. No lie :wow



http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/TRAVEL/11/01/cruise.ship.bridge/t1larg.cruise.ship.afp.gi.jpg

(CNN) -- It was a tight squeeze for a giant new cruise ship sailing from Europe to its home port in in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the weekend.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas passed under Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge with about a foot to spare, drawing applause from people on board the ship.

The captain called it "the great excitement of the day."

The normal height of the ship from the water level to the top is about 73 meters (240 feet), said Capt. Hernan Zini, but the vessel couldn't be higher than 65 meters (213 feet) in order to safely go under the bridge, the captain said.

To make that happen, the crew lowered the ship's retractable twin smokestacks, carefully adjusted the ballast so the ship wouldn't be too light (and therefore sitting too high in the water) and boosted its speed.

"When you increase the speed in relatively confined waters, the ship has a suction effect from the bottom, and that actually makes the ship go a bit deeper into the water," Zini said.

The plan went off without a hitch, and the ship safely cleared the bridge.

YouTube: Watch the ship pass under the bridge

The vessel is the sister ship of the Oasis of the Seas. The pair are the largest cruise ships in the world.

The Allure of the Seas is scheduled to arrive in Florida on November 11. Its official naming ceremony will take place on November 28, and the ship will sail on its inaugural cruise in early December.

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

Big azz ship.

[animal]

In the video i saw of it, it sure looked like there was a lot more than 1 foot of room left. I almost have to call BS on the "less than a foot" part of that article, but I admittedly have no proof to back it up.

[Korndogg]

I watched a show on them building this ship. Apparently the only time they will lower the stacks like that was to get under that one bridge that one time. They will never be lowered again. It cost a shit ton of money to develop the retractable smoke stacks just for that one time.

[Prince Valiant]

I watched a show on them building this ship. Apparently the only time they will lower the stacks like that was to get under that one bridge that one time. They will never be lowered again. It cost a shit ton of money to develop the retractable smoke stacks just for that one time.

makes you think it'd been wiser to just build the ship, float it past, then put the stack on, eh?

[animal]

makes you think it'd been wiser to just build the ship, float it past, then put the stack on, eh?

Or maybe don't build your shipyard somewhere you can't launch boats from :)

This is like that guy that built the lambo in his basement heh.

[jamestown478]

I was on the oasis and that was fucken huge.

[-stew-]

To make that happen, the crew lowered the ship's retractable twin smokestacks, carefully adjusted the ballast so the ship wouldn't be too light (and therefore sitting too high in the water) and boosted its speed.






They stole that idea from Ford!!


gKxIR4ajgVg

[05caddyext]

They won't ever be used again? What about when the ship needs to go into a port? Golden Gate Bridge? Im sure there are other bridges it will need to pass under in its lifetime.

[jbiscuit]

It would have been cooler if it hit the bridge

[Prince Valiant]

It would have been cooler if it hit the bridge
That's happened:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AS94d6MFUFk/SGLAIDdcr6I/AAAAAAAABMI/l--wOG8mdrc/s400/Sunshinebridgecaralmostwentinthedrink.jpg

Tampa Skyway Bridge disaster back in 1980. The guy who's car you see had extreme difficulty w/ survivors guilt. Felt he should have gone in like all the other cars.

Of course, it hit the support, not the span....but still. Impressive.

[fly5150]

I watched a show on them building this ship. Apparently the only time they will lower the stacks like that was to get under that one bridge that one time. They will never be lowered again. It cost a shit ton of money to develop the retractable smoke stacks just for that one time.

Actually, they lower them most of the time. Underway, the exhaust is drawn away better if the stacks are down......

[Korndogg]

Actually, they lower them most of the time. Underway, the exhaust is drawn away better if the stacks are down......


Where did you hear about that? If that's the case then the developers lied on TV lol. IT makes sense but I'm just going by what they said when they were building it.


They won't ever be used again? What about when the ship needs to go into a port? Golden Gate Bridge? Im sure there are other bridges it will need to pass under in its lifetime.

They said that where the ship travels, they won't need to be used again. I'm sure if they needed to go somewhere with a bridge they would lower them again but where the ship travels, they won't need to.

[fly5150]

Where did you hear about that? If that's the case then the developers lied on TV lol. IT makes sense but I'm just going by what they said when they were building it.



They said that where the ship travels, they won't need to be used again. I'm sure if they needed to go somewhere with a bridge they would lower them again but where the ship travels, they won't need to.

I knew i should have posted the link. It was on one of the forums. They didnt anticipate that some of the soot from the exhaust would be directed on the boardwalk. Having the stacks down helps with updraft and keeping the exhaust away from the deck.
i'll see if I can find it.

[Korndogg]

ahh ok I believe you. Don't have to find the link haha. Well either way its a whole hell of a lot of development time and money for something that isn't really needed lol.

[Yooformula]

That's happened:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AS94d6MFUFk/SGLAIDdcr6I/AAAAAAAABMI/l--wOG8mdrc/s400/Sunshinebridgecaralmostwentinthedrink.jpg

Tampa Skyway Bridge disaster back in 1980. The guy who's car you see had extreme difficulty w/ survivors guilt. Felt he should have gone in like all the other cars.

Of course, it hit the support, not the span....but still. Impressive.

The new bridge doesnt feel anymore safer! Almost anyone I knew that drove over it said they felt like they would shit themselves because of the winds and how bad it would sway and shake. Couldnt imagine being on that thing and having it fall!:wow

I agree with animal about the clearance though, this vid shows a heck of alot more than a 1' clearance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1Cs0C8LkeU

judging by one of the vids I saw, the stacks dont seem like a monster of a challenge that they would make it routine to clear bridge spans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmO_kNjzKA0&feature=related

[fly5150]

ahh ok I believe you. Don't have to find the link haha. Well either way its a whole hell of a lot of development time and money for something that isn't really needed lol.

Yea, a hell of a lot of money for something that I dont think was necessary. Dumb