Cargo ship crushes tugboat in Panama Canal

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?

Since the late 2000s, a debate has been sparked on the most suitable age of retirement for Korean pilots. The debate has focused on the extension of retirement age of pilots from 65 to 68 and whether this will affect the probability of marine accidents.

Despite clear regulations and regular maintenance requirements, safety often falls by the wayside, as the current example of a bulk carrier vividly demonstrates.

AMSA notes with concern that since November 2017 several pilots’ lives have been placed at risk, in six separate incidents where man ropes have parted, or its securing point has failed. In addition, AMSA regularly receives reports and complaints about non-compliant pilot transfer arrangements

State regulators on Friday banned cargo ship pilots from using personal cellphones on Maryland waters. The Maryland Board of Pilots, which oversees cargo ship pilots, approved a rule change 10 months after, and in direct response to, the Ever Forward's weekslong grounding in the Chesapeake Bay. Instead of leading the team on the bridge of the Ever Forward, the pilot was on his phone for an hour, texting, sending emails and taking screenshots before running aground and getting stuck for 45...

A video of a fellow captain at my work giving me my very first ride in the companies jet pilot boat. Im impressed.

TRENZ, a leading manufacturer from Germany, is expanding its product lineup with the launch of SIRIUS+, a high-performance Portable Pilot Unit (PPU). As an evolution of the widely recognized SIRIUS model, the new device features cutting-edge technology designed for maximum precision and reliability, particularly for use on Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs).

Aviator Group's H135: marine pilot transfer

Boat builder Metal Shark recently delivered a welded-aluminum 45 Defiant crew boat to Anchorage Launch Services, an Oregon-based operator providing launch, line, pilotage, and cargo services to vessels on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

This video complements the earlier demonstration of wind effect on straight track and shows now wind effect on turning circles. It can be seen that during a turn under strong wind the ship reduces turning when it comes close to equilibrium on straight track - if the Wind-to-ship speed ratio is big enough then the ship even goes straight instead of turning. This is shown for three samples for Head, Stern wind and Beam wind. The turning can be increased if the ratio of Wind speed-to-ship...