A Day In Life of Sailors Piloting Tiny Container Ship

Join me as we transit through the Panama Canal from the North-East side to the South-West. An interesting vlog on how an XDF LNG carrier transits through the newly expanded Panama Canal.Find out its history and which vessel and Captain transited the Canal on its opening day on the 15th of August 1914.The interaction with the Pilot Captain Arnulfo Cepetno who assist me on transit the Cocoli locks.

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.

"We want Ports Authorities to Prioritise the Safety of Maritime Pilots"

In this interview, the President of the African Maritime Pilots Association (AMPA), Captain Mohamed Rafouk who is based in Morocco speaks on how maritime pilots in Africa have coped since the outbreak. He also talks of their interactions with Port Authorities and what their expectations are.

Based on Pilot, Tug Master and Ship Captain Questionnaires

Compiled by:

Captain Henk Hensen FNI FITA Captain Daan Merkelbach FITA Captain F. van Wijnen MNI

Berthing a 180 meter Ro-ro type vessel. With the assistance of 2 ASD tugs of 60TBP each. The ship has a 1000KW bow thruster, which makes the manuever a bit easier.

Created by Tim Cummins. This is an uncontrolled example of the latest passage plan used by the Pilot Service at Portsmouth International Port.

This video shows an introduction on the Spiral-Test-Manoeuvre and describes the procedure how to steer through this manoeuvre and measure the data needed. The results will be displayed in a characteristic diagram allowing to identify stable and unstable conditions and related, detailed information, e.g. spiral loop width and height, rudder angle of neutral effect. Samples of stable and unstable ship behaviour demonstrations will be shown by Fast Time Simulation using the SAMMON Planning tool.

It is frequently a Maritime requirement for a ship to employ and have onboard, a Ships Pilot when entering port. His/ her presence will greatly enhance the safe docking of a vessel into port, harbor or to an anchorage.

The St. Andrew’s Bay Pilots are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Captain Phillip Brady, age 46, on January 12, 2026.