Men rescued from pilot boat wreck at Point Lonsdale

Construction of the world’s first shipping tunnel will soon get underway in western Norway following government approval of startup funds. The Norwegian Coastal Administration (Kystverket) has proposed a plan to complete a tender process in 2021.

The massive container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal, halting traffic in one of the world's busiest waterways, is still stuck. The ship, called the Ever Given, became horizontally wedged in the waterway following heavy winds. Nearly 19,000 ships passed through the canal during 2020, for an average of 51.5 per day, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

The transfer of pilots to and from seagoing vessels should not rely solely on mutual trust and good intentions.

It has been exactly one year ago that a pilot from Sandy Hook (New York), Dennis Sherwood, died in the line of duty while attempting to board the container vessel Maersk Kensington.
What has happened since then? Has safety been improved for the pilots?

The man was working as a Marine Pilot for ABP when he fell into the water on Sunday afternoon. The circumstances surrounding his death are not yet known

As my colleagues know, IMPA conducts a “safety campaign” in the fall every year. The 2022 safety survey report was released a few days ago. First of all, we would like to thank the pilots who participated in this survey from all over the world.

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.

How do marine pilots work? Example: Bringing a bulkcarrier alongside to „Hansaport“ in Hamburg. Here the tugboats „Prompt“, „Resolute“ and „Bulldog“ are involved. The master has to rely on the pilot. One reason is, that he can‘t know how to deal with these tugs. A maneuver like this is only safe, when the pilot has a lot of practical experience. A master who is doing a maneuver like this only about once or twice a month and each time with tugs he doesn’t know in areas he hasn’t been to...

The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority has suggested a possible mistake by the captain of the Ever Given could have led to the grounding of the giant container ship in the waterway last month.