400m Container ship runs aground off Wangerooge (Germany)

High water is necessary for salvage - 1 p.m. is the earliest possible start for the next salvage attempt of the 400-metre-long vessel.

The 400-metre-long container giant "Mumbai Maersk" has run aground in the North Sea tidal flats and must be towed free. The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies was basing its hopes on the high tide at around two o'clock in the morning of Friday night. The night before, an attempt to tow the freighter free had failed. The high water on Thursday afternoon was also too low. In addition, more powerful tugs are still needed.

Live AIS video stream of the salvage

The Brightlingsea Harbour Commission of Essex, UK, recently took delivery of a new pilot boat built by Seaward Boat Development Company based on the Isle of Wight.

The pilot boat will be christened Paga after the Paga Hill which overlooks the Fairfax Harbour where PNG Ports operates from in Port Moresby.

The British Ports Association has launched a new initiative looking at the implications of autonomous shipping for UK ports, including a call for evidence from interested parties. Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) involves the automation of vessel and onboard processes which could alter how ports and ships interface with each other. The BPA which represents the majority of UK port activity including 85% of the shipping movements in and out of the country, is keen to explore what the future developments of shipping will mean for the sector.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority has released its Annual Report 2020.
The Pilotage Act has defined the Atlantic Pilotage Authority’s area of operation as all the Canadian waters in and around the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, as indicated on the map. Within this region, the Authority has designated 17 compulsory pilotage areas.

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

SOMERSET, Mass, − December 18, 2019 – The Association of Maryland Pilots has ordered a new class of pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. Called the “Baltimore Class” after the pilots’ base of operations at the Port of Baltimore, the vessel’s delivery is scheduled for April 2021.

The Master and pilot are dependant on each other for a safe and successful beginning or end of a voyage. They are both operating in a foreign environment.