Tanker went out of control after engine failure and collided with general cargo ship in Kiel Canal near Kiel locks, at around 0120 LT Jul 27.

Product tanker NORTHSEA RATIONAL in load contacted embankment in Neumuelen, Hamburg, in the morning Nov 25, while maneuvering to berth, according to FleetMon.
It stated: “Tanker sustained serious damages to starboard bow, cause of accident yet unknown.
“She was berthed after accident, and as of evening Nov 25, remained, berthed. There was no hull breach in cargo tanks area, no cargo loss reported.”

Port operations, whether these are being performed on water or on land, are often not without risk. Pilots boarding a ship while sailing, navigating through narrow passages, collision avoidance with other smaller or larger vessels, discharging and moving cargo on land, walking between container handling equipment and trucks…

Dredger OCEANLINE 5001 sailing at full speed struck anchored tanker STROVOLOS with moored alongside supply vessel, at around 1140 LT (UTC +8) Oct 2, on Melaka anchorage, Malaysia, Malacca Strait. The results can be seen on video – tanker suffered portside hull breach above waterline and apparently, some damage on cargo deck.

On 6 November 2017, the fully laden, mini cape-size dry bulk carrier Orient Centaur was transiting the South Channel, Weipa, Queensland, outbound under the conduct of harbour pilots as part of a trial introduction of this size of ship to the port. While in the South Channel, the ship’s main engine shut down due to a loss of water from a cracked engine cooling component, and propulsion was lost. Shortly after, the ship grounded on the northern batter of the channel. The stern then slowly...

Crude Oil Tanker British Robin passing St Anns Head on a rather windy day in Pembrokeshire.

After almost four hours of work to safely guide and assist the Ship's Captain in navigating the vessel out from Liverpool's Royal Seaforth Container/Roro Terminal (RSCT) in Liverpool UK, the Harbor Pilot disembarks at Bar Pilot Station, a rendezvous point or certain place where a ship should take the Sea/River/Harbor Pilot on and off. In this video, the Pilot disembarked at the Starboard side (right side), lee side of the vessel which is the normal practice. The term "lee side" means away...

Here's a nice little video of sea trials during the recent unseasonal storm we had last month, which produced some pretty rough conditions at the entrance to Cork Harbour. We managed to capture some nice footage of the Barracuda and Thunder Child II on the day.

Article originally published in SWZ|Maritime September 2022

Through the years, the Dutch Pilots have developed a system of selection, initial education and continual professional training. What is the current state of affairs?