IHMA Congress 2020 goes virtual

With the theme, "The Next Wave – Navigating Towards the Digital Future, the 12th biennial Congress will be delivered virtually from 5 - 10 October, 2020.

As a result of the extraordinary situation resulting from the global Covid-19 outbreak and, in particular, the various public health measures and travel restrictions implemented by many jurisdictions around the world to fight propagation of the virus, IMPA has decided to postpone its biennial Congress in Cancun to 23 to 29 Mayr 2021.

Representatives of sea pilots from 24 nations organized in the European Maritime Pilots Association held their general meeting in Antwerp.

University of York: Here, Dr Kate Preston explains why we need to fully understand the complexity maritime pilotage before we can integrate technology like autonomy.

Bulk carrier COFCO 1 with 41,900 tons of soybean resumed sailing downstream after grounding, which took place on May 25-26, but at around 0630 UTC May 27 she ran aground again, this time in San Pedro area at 269 kilometer mark, Parana river.

Created by Tim Cummins. This is an uncontrolled example of the latest passage plan used by the Pilot Service at Portsmouth International Port.

My personal impression is that a lot has changed in terms of safety in the last two years. Non-compliance with current legislation that directly affects the safety of pilots is now no longer tolerated by many stakeholders. Something is happening. And that is a good thing.

For "Der Spiegel", an experienced pilot and ex-captain analysed the accident of the freighter Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for days, on the basis of documents. His conclusion: the captain and pilot made serious mistakes during the passage.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s (MAIB) has published their latest annual report showing that pilot ladders remain a safety issue for workers.