"Eemslift Hendrika" secured by salvage crews

Video footage from the Florø rescue helicopter.

As we all know there is a new regulation established since July 2012, this new regulation refers to pilot transfer arrangements. There are other yearly safety campaigns such as IMPA that include SOLAS V.23 and IMO Resolution A 1045 and Resolution A.1108(29). Unfortunately, in this annual overview there were some accidents reported that could have been avoided.

Research on hydrodynamic interaction indicates that if the speed of the ship near a bank is too high, the rudder may be less able to cope with the forces induced and control will be lost. The Nautical Institute highlights this in its latest Mars Report, in which an LPG carrier hit a barge being towed by a tugboat as a result of hydrodynamic forces.

The Port of Townsville has welcomed the newest addition to its fleet of pilot boats with the arrival of the newly built MANTARAY. The $3.3 million, custom-built vessel utilises high-tech equipment and design to maximise safety and efficiency for pilot transfers.

ABB will deliver an integrated electric propulsion system and advanced vessel control technology for Crowley’s pioneering eWolf tug, built for sustainable and safe operations at the Port of San Diego.

Created by Tim Cummins. This is an uncontrolled example of the latest passage plan used by the Pilot Service at Portsmouth International Port.

When I was a deck officer back in the early nineties I worked on a ship that used to load grain at different ports along the Mississippi river. The name of the ship was Golden Hope, a 600 feet long dry bulk carrier with a 95 feet in beam. An average size vessel for those days' standards.

Thousands of miles across the open ocean can seem like the easy part of a ship's journey. The real challenge begins when a massive vessel reaches the final few dozen miles, where open water gives way to narrow channels, strict traffic controls, powerful tugboats, and enormous locks. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the Panama Canal, where ships must be carefully guided through a complex system designed to move them between two oceans. So how can the last few miles of a journey become...

From the author: "This is a special video about the transit through the infamous Panama canal. It took me quite some time to make this video. I tried to show as much as I could about the Panama canal and its pilotage waters."

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation delivered a Chesapeake class pilot boat to the Seaway Pilots Inc. in Cape Vincent, NY. The Seaway pilots navigate ships in and out of the ports and harbors of the St. Lawrence Seaway between St. Regis, NY and Port Weller on Lake Ontario.