Article

Danish Butter Cookies...


by Marine Pilot Luis Vale, Portugal - published on 17 July 2019 1648 -

photo and article by Luis Vale, Portugal

It is a known fact that next to the most important equipment on a ship’s bridge (the coffee machine) there will always be a tin of cookies to help the watchkeepers go through the 4 hours watch with their stomachs comforted. Not always known is that these tins of delicious “Danish Butter Cookies” can also give a help navigating the ship…

Back in 1996 we were approaching Hormuz Strait, outbound from the Arabian Gulf, having loaded a full cargo of crude oil at the Iranian Kharg Island terminal. The traffic separation scheme north of Musandam Peninsula demands a large alteration of course, which can be tricky for a 22 meter draft, 342 meters long vessel with heavy traffic nearby. For this reason, the Captain was also on the bridge with the 2nd Officer (at that time, me).

At some distance on our starboard bow, there was a salvage tug approximately with the same heading and speed. She was delaying the course change and soon we would need to start going to starboard and had no acceptable room. Before deciding to slow our speed to increase the distance we tried to call her on the VHF asking if she would alter course before us or proceed with that course. After calling the tugboat a couple of times by her name, with no answer whatsoever and approaching the defined position to alter course, I headed for the phone to call the engineers in order to let them know that I would soon be decreasing the engine revolutions so as to alter course.

Before I could pick up the handset, the Captain impassively told me to wait a moment. He approached the “Danish Butter Cookies” tin, removed the lid and went outside on the bridge wing. Using the sun and the polished interior of the lid as a mirror, he began to flash the bridge of the tug. Almost immediately a voice sounded on the VHF, with the tugboat watchkeeper apologizing after realizing that there was this huge, huge vessel approaching on her port quarter. She instantly altered course to starboard and allowed us also to alter without decreasing the speed...

So, next time you join a ship, check if the “Danish Butter Cookies” are a part of the standard navigational equipment…

Join the conversation...

Login or register to write comments and join the discussion!
Daniel Trinca USA
on 25 April 2021, 12:37 UTC

It should be as part of inventory among toothpicks and toiled papers.
I would say without this a vessel cannot sail.
0

Read more...

Article The use of helmets... or “Why Do Pilots Not Wear Helmets?”

by Marine Pilot Luis Vale, Portugal - published on 20 August 2019

photo and article by Luis Vale, Portugal

1

Article Pilots and ship´s Captains

by Marine Pilot Luis Vale, Portugal - published on 23 August 2019

Lately there has been a considerable increase in opinions of seagoing ship´s masters complaining about pilotage services, expressed whether as LinkedIn articles and comments or in some reputable industry magazines.

1

Article Shiphandling at shipyards, never a dull moment...

by Marine Pilot Luis Vale, Portugal - published on 20 September 2019

Drydocking or undocking is always a difficult task, particularly with a “dead” vessel (no power/propulsion) and the wind blowing on the ship's side.

0

Video #InternationalWomensDay: Female Harbour Pilot

published on 12 March 2020

Women’s rights and gender equality are taking centre stage in 2020. But for some women, the fear of gender discrimination has never stopped them from pursuing their dream and Ms Amelia Pickering, a Harbour Pilot, is one of them.
Inspired by her father, she shares how she started her journey in the Maritime industry and some of the challenges she faced being a female Harbour Pilot.

0

Video A Day With Lough Foyle Pilots

published on 25 July 2022

July 21st 2022, a thrilling day for me when I met up with the Foyle Pilots and was given a tour and a trip out on pilot vessel Foyle Leader 2. I was in the company of Coxswain Tommy McDaid and several other pilots, I was taken out past tall ship Grace O'Malley then we collected the pilot from a cement carrier called Cemluna, then back to Greencastle, it was a fantastic experience. Many thanks to Tommy and the crew for making this happen. www.nightskyhunter.com

0

Article MARS-Report: Paltry PPU position predictor

by The Nautical Insitute - published on 18 August 2023

To monitor the vessel’s progress, the pilot had set up his portable pilotage unit (PPU). He had connected the rate-of-turn generator to the vessel’s pilot plug and had set a variable range marker on the radar with a radius of 0.5 nm.

0

Video La station de pilotage des ports de Casablanca et Jorf-Lasf

published on 16 July 2020

The pilot station of the ports of Casablanca and Jorf-Lasfar operates in accordance with the 1937 Dahir on the reorganization of the pilot station of the port of Casablanca, which regulates all aspects of the organization and operation of the station, including the recruitment of pilots, as well as the pension and relief fund.
With the advent of Law 15/02 in 2005 on port reform, the station spontaneously adhered to it by creating a commercial company in application of article 13 of the said...

0

Video A day in the life of a TasPorts' Marine Pilot

published on 5 November 2019

Video by Tasmanian Ports Corporation
TasPorts' Marine Pilot Nick Hess recently produced a video from footage our crews have captured around Tasmania.
The video provides an amazing insight into the work TasPorts’ Marine Pilots undertake every day around the state - an essential part of the business that not many people get the opportunity to see.

0

Article Pilots and VTS operators working together to improve maritime safety

published on 2 February 2022

The Norwegian Coastal Administration has signed an agreement with Aboa Mare to provide a new
course for pilots and VTS operators. By practising together in a simulator, maritime safety along the
Norwegian coast will be reinforced.

0