Cargo ship crushes tugboat in Panama Canal

​A state licensed pilot from the Sabine Pilots took navigational control of the Gas Ares as it was heading to a loading dock on the Neches River.

A bulk carrier was departing port with a pilot on the bridge to assist with the undocking and manoeuvre downriver. The operation was also assisted by two conventionally propelled tugs, one forward and one aft.

The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority has suggested a possible mistake by the captain of the Ever Given could have led to the grounding of the giant container ship in the waterway last month.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued Marine Accident Brief 20/37 Tuesday for its investigation of the Sept. 23, 2019, accident involving the tugboat G.M. McAllister and the NGL Energy Partners wharf on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, near Chesapeake, Virginia.

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

The IMPA has published on 30th June 2020 a letter about crew exchange in times of corona. Read the letter here:

Manobra de entrada no Porto de Tubarão. #Praticagem do Espírito Santo. Zona de Praticagem 14: Vitória, Tubarão, Praia Mole, Barra do Riacho e Ubu.

With ships as large as 175 feet wide and a channel a maximum of 500 feet wide, how to you safely pass? Former Houston ship channel pilot, Lou Vest, explains how ships fight against hydrodynamics to pass with such narrow margins.
https://houstonmaritime.org

With approval from the Danish Emergency Management Agency, DanPilot and Danelec are now initiating a test program for remote pilotage – the first of its kind in the world.

The European Tugowners Association in collaboration with the European Maritime Pilots Association has produced this informative video on efficient and safe towage operations. These guidelines address the main factors affecting the safety of harbour towage operations such as good communications between pilots, ship captains and tugmasters.