Vessel "ELSE" crashes into closed lock gate in Kiel-Holtenau on 29.08.2020

The vessel "ELSE" didn't stopped at the pilot station and tried to enter the closed lock without a pilot.
Following the crash on 29.08.2020, the official investigations into the accident are now beginning on site.

According to WSA Kiel-Holtenau: The northern chamber of the Great Lock has been put back into operation. Both chambers are available to the shipping industry.

The Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) hereby announces the publication of the Investigation Report No. 285/20 on 26 October 2022. The report deals with the contact of the multipurpose ship ELSE with a closed lockgate of the Kiel-Holtenau lock which occurred on 29 August 2020.

Research on hydrodynamic interaction indicates that if the speed of the ship near a bank is too high, the rudder may be less able to cope with the forces induced and control will be lost. The Nautical Institute highlights this in its latest Mars Report, in which an LPG carrier hit a barge being towed by a tugboat as a result of hydrodynamic forces.

AURIGA Group on Friday announced it had appointed the first female pilot in its business, as well as the first female leader of a reef pilotage business.

We frequently search the internet for our members and find job offers for pilots or Harbour Masters.

The British Ports Association has launched a new initiative looking at the implications of autonomous shipping for UK ports, including a call for evidence from interested parties. Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) involves the automation of vessel and onboard processes which could alter how ports and ships interface with each other. The BPA which represents the majority of UK port activity including 85% of the shipping movements in and out of the country, is keen to explore what the future developments of shipping will mean for the sector.

Helicopter services company NHV Group has won a contract extension with the Dutch Maritime Pilot’s Association (Nederlandse loodsencorporatie) to support maritime pilotage services in the Netherlands.

Pilots are expert ship handlers who possess detailed knowledge of local waterways. They are transported by high speed "Pilot Boat" or helicopter from shore to an inbound ship and from an outbound ship back ashore. Most ports have compulsory pilotage.

Svitzer, A.P. Moller - Maersk’s world leading towage operator, today unveiled plans to introduce the world’s first fuel cell tug boat for harbour towage operations.