Near miss: VALDIVIA dangerously approached beach in Vlissingen, NL

vlissingen 2017

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

Het Nederlands Loodswezen BV is een organisatie die de aangesloten registerloodsen de middelen verschaft om hun werk uit te oefenen. Zo int het Loodswezen de loodsgelden en zorgt de organisatie voor het transport van en naar zeeschepen. We zien hier een prachtig staaltje inparkeren door de Pioneer in de speciaal daarvoor aangelegde loodsbotenhaven in Vlissingen; naast het Keizersbolwerk. Klaar om de Westerschelde weer op te varen.

According to AIS past track data, the vessel was obviously too fast on 9 knots and also going down the wind (4-5 bft., take a look at the exhaust from the stack) when entered the inner harbour considering the size and displacement. That speed was approximate 3 ship lengths to the pier and there was the on pier wind after the turn. Why the ship entered the port so fast will be the subject of the investigations to be awaited. Knowing South Korea procedures there will be no just marine...

To monitor the vessel’s progress, the pilot had set up his portable pilotage unit (PPU). He had connected the rate-of-turn generator to the vessel’s pilot plug and had set a variable range marker on the radar with a radius of 0.5 nm.

For "Der Spiegel", an experienced pilot and ex-captain analysed the accident of the freighter Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for days, on the basis of documents. His conclusion: the captain and pilot made serious mistakes during the passage.

Contact of Cooperative Spirit Tow with Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge Pier (Mississippi, Lousiana) on March 15, 2020 caused a property damage of $1.65 million est. (barges and lost cargo).

One of the biggest ships in the world, 23,000+ TEU container ship MSC MIA, reportedly contacted gantry crane while leaving container terminal at Valencia.

Qualified pilots are usually employed by the local port or maritime administration, and provide their services to ships for a fee, calculated in relation to the ship’s tonnage, draught or other criteria.