Pilots board cruise ships in choppy waters. Fast pilot boats. Auckland & Malta

Spotted some Pilot Boats in the Port of Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne & Fremantle Australia (Port codes: Auckland:NZ AKL ; Melbourne:AU MEL ; Fremantle:AU FRE).

The Auckland District Court has fined the Ports of Auckland NZD424,000 (USD300,500) for exempting its pilot boats from speed limits in Waitemata Harbour after a swimmer was struck and killed (April 2017).

Malta Maritime Pilots

Foyle Leader 2 inbound to Greencastle on Lough Foyle after delivering a pilot on bulk carrier Intrepid. www.nightskyhunter.com

According to a report today by www.MaritimeBulletin.net a mooring boat was rammed from a container ship and sunk.

Perfect Manoeuvre. Maybe it is Kieler Förde or Travemünde but in an any case the Baltic Sea. Greetings to NOK II !

On the 23rd of March 2021 the VLCC Ever Given grounded in the Suez Canal. A strong southerly wind (between 6 and 7 BFT) plus so-called bank shear caused steering issues. This a combined 2D and 3D reconstruction of the incident based on recorded AIS data.