Marine Accident Brief - Collision of Dixie Vandal Tow with Moored Trinity and Tow

The National Transportation Safety Board issued Marine Accident Brief 20/37 Tuesday for its investigation of the Sept. 23, 2019, accident involving the tugboat G.M. McAllister and the NGL Energy Partners wharf on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, near Chesapeake, Virginia.

NTSB issued an investigation report on the contact of tow William C with a Rock Island railroad bridge protection cell, on Des Plaines River, in January 2020. The investigation established that high speed prevented the pilot to correct the tow’s position after completing the transit through the previous bridge.

An authentic report by Marine Pilot Capt. Agha Umar Habib (Port of Sohar, Oman) about a dramatic incident on July 23, 2019.

An investigation into actual strength of ladders and intermediate securing methods used.
Capt. and Marine Pilot Troy Evans (New Zealand) decided to look into pilot ladder strength and intermediate securing arrangements after MNZ put out what he felt was a confusing and unclear document about securing of pilot ladders.

The technology group Wärtsilä has delivered a navigation simulator and specific mathematical models to the Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) in the city of Rauma, Finland. These will be used as an essential enabler in the Intelligent Shipping Technology Test Laboratory (ISTLAB) project, which aims at creating a technically precise testing environment for remotely controlled, autonomous vessels. The contract with Wärtsilä was signed in the 4th quarter of 2019.

When publishing articles or pictures about pilots and their pilot ladders, very often we see the use of backpacks. The use of backpacks is controversial, since its weight, or buoyancy, can influence the functioning of the lifejacket used.

The European Maritime Pilot´s Association has released the new Newsletter issue 002/2021.

What’s expected to be the first autonomous container ship is at the beginning of a two-year pilot. Norwegian fertiliser giant Yara is behind the vessel, which will gradually transition to fully autonomous navigation. The global maritime industry is a major emitter of greenhouse gases, and it is thought this could be one step towards a green shipping revolution. Please subscribe HERE http://bit.ly/1rbfUog #ClimateChange #Norway #BBCNews

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuildiing, Duclos Corporation, has taken an order for a rigid-bottom, soft-sided pilot boat from the Lake Pilots. The Resilient class high-speed launch is the Michigan pilots’ third boat built by the Somerset-Mass. Shipyard since 1979.

LuxSpace CEO, Jochen Harms, on putting the ESAIL microsatellite into orbit.
ESAIL is part of ESA’s Partnership Projects and has been developed to enhance the next generation of space‐based services for the maritime sector. The spacecraft will track ship movements over the entire globe as it orbits the planet.