Land and Sea: Sea Harbour Pilots

An authentic report by Marine Pilot Capt. Agha Umar Habib (Port of Sohar, Oman) about a dramatic incident on July 23, 2019.

On a windy morning, the incoming bulker HEIDE OLDENDORFF transited the Eurochannel underway to the EECV jetty west side, at 18 meters draft. With the assistance of FairPlay Towage, KRVE linesmen, and the excellent crew of the ship, we had. Very pleasant voyage.

Für Lotsen ist es der gefährlichste Moment in ihrem Berufsalltag: bei orkanartigen Böen von einem Frachtschiff eine Strickleiter herunterklettern und auf ein kleines Lotsenboot übersetzen. Mitte Januar 2023 ist ein Lotse bei Borkum ins Meer gefallen und kam mit Unterkühlungen ins Krankenhaus. Erst wenige Tage zuvor verstarb ein englischer Kollege bei diesem Manöver. Hafenlotse Gerhard Janßen und Seelotse Dominik Thieben machen sich für ihren Einsatz bereit. Bei Windstärke acht geht es mit...

Many thanks to Capt. Pilot Evan Simkus for the insight into the working day!

July 21st 2022, a thrilling day for me when I met up with the Foyle Pilots and was given a tour and a trip out on pilot vessel Foyle Leader 2. I was in the company of Coxswain Tommy McDaid and several other pilots, I was taken out past tall ship Grace O'Malley then we collected the pilot from a cement carrier called Cemluna, then back to Greencastle, it was a fantastic experience. Many thanks to Tommy and the crew for making this happen. www.nightskyhunter.com

Here's a realtime run-through of the #EVERGIVEN accident. After it gets stuck, check out the vessel two behind Evergiven - moving "somewhat erratically" and almost crashing into the Maersk Denver in front.

It is not often that this blog is used to show bad practice, however in this case some pictures tell a whole story. Ship is compliant by design for rigging a combination. How about the operator(s)?

10 Jan 2023
New York Maneuver

The mouth of the Duluth Canal is a dangerous entrance in bad weather. Here the coast guard shows the agility of their boats. What a ride!

Tug power has increased considerably over recent decades. Today, some ship handling tugs have a bollard pull of more than 100 tons. In addition, high tug power can be installed in ever smaller compact hulls.