In our new new section “Five questions for ..." Marine-Pilots.com introduces pilots and other market players to our readers in short interviews.

Today we have talked to Olli Taipale, Chief Pilot at Finnpilot.

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.

There are some problems that never seem to go away and one is the perennial difficulties in providing a safe way of getting pilots on and off a ship.

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.

Pilot recruitment has traditionally been based on seniority, and extensive sea experience. However, a more modern approach, hiring younger, motivated candidates with structured training, offers an alternative path with compelling advantages.

In this video we follow along with Capt. Dane of the Palm Beach Harbor Pilots Association on a windy Saturday morning as he brings in a massive bulk carrier cargo ship into the Port of Palm Beach. This vessel which has a draft of 27 ft, and a beam of 99 ft is the maximum allowable size vessel allowed to transit into the port due to the shoaling going on that forces all vessel to have a maximum operating draft of 29 ft. No room for error. Also featured in this video is a regular cargo vessel...

Pilotboat Galveston boarding Unit #6 inbound to Texas City. Seas got a little spicy today. 🌊🌊
#galtexpilots #gladdinghearn #pilotboatgalveston #goprohero11 #rammounts #galvestonpilots #ship #legend #crowley #ATBLEGEND #TUGANDBARGE

Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure has successfully finalised an exclusive licensing agreement with the Port of Auckland Ltd (POAL).

This report on incidents involving vessels under pilotage, is an update on that issued in 2006. The IG’s first report examined five years of data between 1999 and 2004.

The CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE joins the fleet: the first 23,000 TEU container vessel in the world to be powered by liquefied natural gas.