Article

Port of Oakland welcomes biggest ship ever this week


by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 19 April 2020 235 -

Photo by Fleetmon, Text: Port of Oakland press release

Coronavirus may be hampering global trade but it hasn't broken the supply chain at the Port of Oakland. The latest evidence: the largest ship ever to call in Oakland arrives this week. The container vessel MSC Anna is scheduled to berth at the Port April 16.

The ship will tie up at Oakland International Container Terminal on the Oakland Estuary. The Port said that the 1,312-foot-long vessel is on special assignment from Geneva-based shipping line MSC. It’s collecting a backlog of empty containers in Southern California before arriving in Oakland. It’s scheduled to spend 24 hours here discharging import containers and loading exports.

“We’ve spent years, and millions of dollars keeping ahead of the pace of trade and the size of ships,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan. “We’re ready for the MSC Anna and we’ll welcome her back any time.”

The arrival is gratifying for Oakland, which has growth aspirations despite recent cargo volume declines from the coronavirus pandemic. The MSC Anna can carry up to 19,200 20-foot cargo containers. That makes it one of the largest vessels ever to visit a North American port. It's bigger than the CMA Benjamin Franklin which came to Oakland in 2016. That ship can carry 18,000 20-foot containers.

Over the past decade, the Port has dredged waterways and raised container cranes to receive so-called megaships. The largest cargo vessels anywhere in North America arrive in Oakland daily, the Port said.

San Francisco Bar Pilots said they’ve undertaken extensive planning with the Port and MSC to prepare for the arrival of the MSC Anna. Pilots navigate ships in and out of San Francisco Bay and guide them to ports.

According to Joseph Long, President of the Bar Pilots Association, preparations for the MSC Anna’s arrival included computer simulations at the Cal State Maritime Academy in Vallejo. The simulations contributed to a better understanding of navigational demands created by megaships, he explained.

“The San Francisco Bay is one of the most challenging pilotage grounds in the world and safely piloting these huge ships requires expertise and significant training,” Capt. Long said. “The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of the global supply chain to our region’s economy. We are pleased to continue our tradition of safety and service to support this vital part of the infrastructure.”
What's your opinion on this?
Login or register to write comments and join the discussion!
Read more...

Video Pilot off!

published on 14 December 2021

Pilot off an outbound container ship, carrying empty containers out from the Port of Oakland. Working hard to repair the supply chain!
More of this content on Instagram @sea_weathered
Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/sea_weathered

0

Video North Sea pilots in the storm (documentation, german with subtitles)

published on 20 February 2023

Für Lotsen ist es der gefährlichste Moment in ihrem Berufsalltag: bei orkanartigen Böen von einem Frachtschiff eine Strickleiter herunterklettern und auf ein kleines Lotsenboot übersetzen. Mitte Januar 2023 ist ein Lotse bei Borkum ins Meer gefallen und kam mit Unterkühlungen ins Krankenhaus. Erst wenige Tage zuvor verstarb ein englischer Kollege bei diesem Manöver. Hafenlotse Gerhard Janßen und Seelotse Dominik Thieben machen sich für ihren Einsatz bereit. Bei Windstärke acht geht es mit...

2

Video The Pilot Of Belfast Harbour - N Irish Coastal Scenery

published on 20 June 2022

What a great pleasure to meet these guys at the harbour - they could not have been more helpful and forthright about their work. At first glance, the glide of these orange powerboats up and down Belfast Lough seems an almost effortless task, but close up this is a very skilled trade and constant management of risk 24/7 in high and low seas, jumping from ship to boat to land taking safe control of the great volume of steel vessel coming in and out of this busy port. Though a hub of...

1

Video History: Helicopter Transport Elbe River-Pilot (1961)

published on 18 May 2020

Unissued / Unused material - Hamburg, West Germany (FDR - Federal Republic of Germany). German helicopters are used to carry river boat pilots to where they are needed. Big CU Helicopter pilot talking into mouthpiece. Aerial view from helicopter of boat below. MS as the helicopter comes in and lands on deck of the ship. Various shots as pilot is picked up from lightship and flown off in helicopter. LS From bridge of ship as helicopter flies overhead. CU Small bird sitting on capstan. (f.g....

0

Opinion 1000 cruise ships around… Are their pilot transfer arrangements safe?

by Arie Palmers - published on 8 June 2022

Some words on cruise ships and their compliance with SOLAS ch.V reg 23, IMO A.1045(27)? At the start of 2020 a pandemic we haven’t seen before in hundreds of years has struck the world, putting economies to a halt and had a devastating effect on the beautiful cruise business.

2

Video Piloting the first wind turbines for Colombia

published on 5 July 2021

Impressive pictures from Colombia: MV Malcom arrived on June the 20th carrying the first wind generators for the "Guajira 1" project.

0

Video Sea Pilot,Dock Master and Ship Master With Manouver at Radiance Pacific Singapore

published on 5 August 2022

Sea Pilot,Dock Master and Ship Master With Manouver at Radiance Pacific Singapore
#olahgerakkapal #drydock #singapore

0

Video Extreme scale model testing of the T-2000 hull design

published on 1 March 2023

We’re doing another day of testing with the self-propelled scale model of T-2000. Obviously the conditions here do comprehensively exceed the designs operational envelope, as in scale proportion to the model, the waves must be I guess around 10-20 metres in size. However it’s interesting to understand the designs ultimate limits. The model is built to a scale of fourteen to one, and this equals 20 metres in real life size. Later, by slowing down the video, so that it matches the speed of...

0

Article Gantry Crane Collision at Kaohsiung Port (Taiwan)

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 3 June 2021

According to media reports from Taiwan, a collision between an OOCL vessel and a Gantry Crane occurred today (03.06.2021).

1

Video Pilot boarding in Brazil

published on 9 August 2021

Awesome scenery

1