Launch Master (Skipper)

Container ship SHAHRAZ and bulk carrier SAMUDRA SAKTI I are reported to run aground in Singapore Strait south of St John Island at around 1900 UTC May 10, close to each other, while proceeding in the same direction, probably trying to avoid collision. As of 0700 UTC May 11, both ships remain in the same positions, coordinates don’t change. SHAHRAZ is en route from Port Klang to Yangshan China, SAMUDRA SAKTI I is en route from Belawan to Bayah, southwest Java.

harbor pilots disembarking in Hong Kong
container ships - IKARIA and YM Excellence

In fact, the pivot point that we “see” is a trick of the eye, it looks like the ship is rotating about this point but in fact it is elsewhere, a point that you cannot see.

Shifting a vessel from one harbor to other. Easy and safe maneuver. Turn area D=150m. Mooring area 110m.

After 30+ years of service, the vessel needed to be re-powered. A $1.7 million re-powering project was initiated and completed during 2004.

photo and article by Luis Vale, Portugal

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.

It was in fact 25 June 1871 when King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy, by Royal Decree 345, established a Pilot Corps in the port of Civitavecchia (60 kilometres north of Rome).

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.