Does the growth of ships ever have limits? Perhaps less in shipbuilding than in the handling of the ships during piloting.

On August 28, the world's largest container ship completed its first crossing in the Suez Canal. Due to its huge size and this is the first voyage of the ship, it has received extra attention and special treatment from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

Pilot ladder broke when pilot was boarding general cargo ship CREST CRANE at night Nov 5 at Keelung Port, Taiwan, to take the ship out.

A Japanese bulk carrier that has spilled more than 1,000 tons of oil since running aground off the coast of Mauritius has broken in two. Officials said the split was caused by a crack in a cargo hold, after the ship's condition deteriorated severely overnight. Emergency teams and thousands of volunteers have been racing to siphon off remaining fuel on board the ship.

The transfer of pilots to and from seagoing vessels should not rely solely on mutual trust and good intentions.

A pilot of Sandy Hook, Dennis Sherwood fell off a ladder while boarding a ship today at 4:30 a.m. and died of his serious injury in Staten Island hospital.

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…

Good news for pilot safety: As one of the leading shipping companies, MAERSK is now targeting the notorious "trapdoor arrangements". A corresponding notification to all the company's ships concerned was made public in the last few days.