Maryland bans cellphone use by cargo ship pilots

The Maryland Board of Pilots has decided to enact a rule change that forbids on-duty pilots from using their phones.

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.

A container ship is reported to be stranded off the coast of Gibson Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Marine Tracker lists the ship as the Ever Forward and that it is aground. It appears there are several tugboats out of Baltimore trying to assist. The company that operates the ship, Evergreen, is the same one that was responsible for the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal a year ago.

Two decades ago, candidates were selected for TNPA's accelerated training programme in Rotterdam, which aimed to train a new generation of ship pilots, managers and other maritime professionals.

16mt HSLC CLASS ALUMINIUM PILOT BOAT engineered & build by LYNX.

The US Coast Guard has now issued "Marine Safety Information Bulletin 21-20" which repeats the recommendation for pilot transfer agreements.

Find the right link for your Smartphone.
Get your Marine Pilots' information even easier: For Android & iPhone.

The Pacific Pilotage Authority says: "There is a common misunderstanding amongst vessel operators that vessels built prior to 2012 are exempt from some of the requirements for pilot transfer arrangements. This is incorrect...".

What happens when GNSS fails? In maritime navigation, this isn’t a hypothetical scenario – it’s a growing risk. Spoofing, jamming, and GNSS outages are increasing, especially in the Baltic Sea region. A failure can cripple navigation systems – with potentially serious consequences.

The Winter Edition of "The Mastes, Mates & Pilot" by the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P) has been released.