NTSB Investigation: Towing vessel pilot never reported hitting bridge in Louisiana

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a Marine Accident Brief about an accident that occurred in March 2019, involving the towing vessel Dixie Vandal, noting that the BNWAS alarm didn't prevent the fatigued pilot from falling asleep.

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.

NTSB issued an investigation report on the contact of tow William C with a Rock Island railroad bridge protection cell, on Des Plaines River, in January 2020. The investigation established that high speed prevented the pilot to correct the tow’s position after completing the transit through the previous bridge.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the maritime supply chain and called for accelerated adoption of digital technologies in various aspects of maritime operations, including the area of maritime education and training (MET).

Conversion work is nearly completed of the former Oil Spill Response Vessel OSRV MAINE RESPONDER to a Pilot Station Vessel for Sandy Hook Pilots Association of Staten Island, NY. The conversion work contract was competitively awarded to Feeney Shipyard of Kingston NY.

With the theme, "The Next Wave – Navigating Towards the Digital Future, the 12th biennial Congress will be delivered virtually from 5 - 10 October, 2020.

The Congress remains the key forum for IHMA members and the global ports sector to collaborate, network, share information, and provide updates on the latest industry technology and solutions.

At the 27 October 2020 meeting, the Board reviewed the SHPA grant request for a pilot ladder climbing training program.

The massive container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal, halting traffic in one of the world's busiest waterways, is still stuck. The ship, called the Ever Given, became horizontally wedged in the waterway following heavy winds. Nearly 19,000 ships passed through the canal during 2020, for an average of 51.5 per day, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

The Chinese container freighter "CSCL Star" belongs to the class of Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS) and is one of the largest ships that can enter the port of Hamburg.