Article

Maryland bans cellphone use by maritime pilots


published on 9 January 2023 221 -

Picture / Screenshot from YouTube

After a distracted pilot grounded the cargo ship Ever Forward in the Chesapeake Bay last March, the Maryland Pilotage Board passed a rule change prohibiting pilots from using their phones while on duty.

"The job of a state-licensed pilot requires absolute attention and focus on the job of safety piloting, navigating maneuvering, anchoring docking or undocking a vessel," board chairman Sandy Steeves told local media in a statement.

Maryland banned texting and driving in 2013, but it had still been technically legal to "text and pilot" merchant ships while in state waters. Last year, one pilot's ill-timed decision to use a phone put the containership Ever Forward aground on an oyster bank, where the vessel stayed for a month as salvors worked to free her.
The Association of Maryland Pilots and the Maryland Board of Pilots did not have cell phone policies at the time of the grounding. The U.S. Coast Guard does not have formal regulations on cell phone use, though it "strongly recommends vessel owners and operators to develop and implement effective operational policies."

Join the conversation...

Login or register to write comments and join the discussion!
René Hartung Lotsenbrüderschaft NOK II Kiel / Lübeck / Flensburg, Germany
on 9 March 2023, 06:33 UTC

Putting a ban on the use of cellphones during pilotage is a bit to black/white and frankly a shortsighted overkill-reaction. Whereas I completely understand the need to be focussed during the job and not to be distracted at certain parts of the job, I don‘t feel like banning technology that can also help with your job ist a good idea. In my district for example we use cellphones to contact agents, port authorities, our dispatcher and so forth. Not all content is suitable for public VHF communication. Nevertheless the awareness of when and how to use this tool needs to be worked on. Banning phones from pilotage is like banning car navigation devices, because in between all those rides, 1 driver messed up and entered a one way the wrong way.
0

Read more...

Video Maryland bans cellphone use by cargo ship pilots

published on 9 January 2023

State regulators on Friday banned cargo ship pilots from using personal cellphones on Maryland waters. The Maryland Board of Pilots, which oversees cargo ship pilots, approved a rule change 10 months after, and in direct response to, the Ever Forward's weekslong grounding in the Chesapeake Bay. Instead of leading the team on the bridge of the Ever Forward, the pilot was on his phone for an hour, texting, sending emails and taking screenshots before running aground and getting stuck for 45...

1

Video Suez canal blocked: attempts continue to free stuck megaship Ever Given

published on 25 March 2021

Efforts to free the giant container ship are continuing after the 400m-long vessel became stuck in the Suez canal. Local authorities attempted to dislodge the 220,000 ton vessel from the banks of the canal using tug boats, but the megaship remains stuck more than one day after it ran aground.

1

Video Evergreen containership aground near Baltimore

published on 15 March 2022

A container ship is reported to be stranded off the coast of Gibson Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Marine Tracker lists the ship as the Ever Forward and that it is aground. It appears there are several tugboats out of Baltimore trying to assist. The company that operates the ship, Evergreen, is the same one that was responsible for the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal a year ago.

0

Article Send us links of interesting articles

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 21 August 2019

If you wrote an interesting article yourself or made great photos or video recordings that you would like to make permanently accessible to the large Marine Pilots Community here, send it to us!

0

Video The Rebranding of PSA Marine Peru

published on 26 August 2020

Tramarsa Flota is now PSA Marine Peru! Following the acquisition of Tramarsa Flota by PSA Marine on 12 February 2020, the Peru-based marine services operator unveiled its new name and brand - PSA Marine Peru. Catch them as they share their rebranding story in this video 😊

0

Article Special pilot job for Ems pilots and NAUTITEC

published on 10 May 2021

Fosen Yard AS has built a semi-closed fish farm construction with a diameter of 160m and a depth of 20m.
The second half ring of this construction has left Emden on Friday.

0

Video HMM ALGECIRAS - The world's largest container ship arrives at Hamburg

published on 8 June 2020

This morning i was up to see the maiden call of the world's largest container ship at the Port of Hamburg. The HMM ALGECIRAS of HMM trades between the Far East and Europe and she can carry up to 23,964 teu. Here at Hamburg, the ship will be handled at the CTB Terminal of HHLA Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG. It was an early start today since the ship already entered the port at 6h in the morning!
#hamburg #shipping #containership #megamax #elbe #record

0

Article EVER GIVEN has been moved soon to be refloated or positioned along bank

published on 29 March 2021

During the night Mar 28-29 EVER GIVEN was moved from her initial grounding position and hopefully, soon, will be either refloated, or positioned alongside Canal eastern bank, to free the Canal for shipping.

0

Video Pilot disembarkation from tanker at BAY OF BENGAL

published on 9 November 2021

Hooghly river Marine pilotage is one of the toughest and longest pilotage in the world,
pilots here face many challenges daily to enable safe passage of ships from bay of Bengal to the port of CALCUTTA and Haldia.
Pilot embarkation and disembarkation is a vital part , where the pilot climbs up or down a rope ladder ,if the free board is more than 9 meters then combination ladder is used it needs very good physical fitness practice and experience to safely embark and disembark from these...

1