On May 11, 2020, in the early morning hours, the news went around the world that two serious marine casualties occurred in sector 8 of Singapore Street within 6 minutes.

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.

The breakaway and subsequent grounding of oil products tanker CSC Friendship in the Port of Brisbane highlights that port infrastructure and associated shipping can be exposed to dynamic hazards, which includes the inherent uncertainty of extreme weather forecasts.

9th March 2020 at about 08:45 PM
Read full article on Marine-Pilots.com

The sinking of the oil tanker "Erika" off the French coast in 1999 is known as one of France's worst environmental catastrophes. Following the disaster, the E.U established the European Maritime Safety Agency which operates the vessel traffic monitoring system, SafeSeaNet. How does it protect us? READ MORE : https://www.euronews.com/2022/09/27/maritime-safety-how-vessel-monitoring-can-help-protect-our-waters Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/euronews?sub_confirmation=1...

State regulators on Friday banned cargo ship pilots from using personal cellphones on Maryland waters. The Maryland Board of Pilots, which oversees cargo ship pilots, approved a rule change 10 months after, and in direct response to, the Ever Forward's weekslong grounding in the Chesapeake Bay. Instead of leading the team on the bridge of the Ever Forward, the pilot was on his phone for an hour, texting, sending emails and taking screenshots before running aground and getting stuck for 45...

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…

It has been exactly one year ago that a pilot from Sandy Hook (New York), Dennis Sherwood, died in the line of duty while attempting to board the container vessel Maersk Kensington.
What has happened since then? Has safety been improved for the pilots?

Video discussion hosted by Capt. Vijay Sharma, Master Mariner
along with Co-Host Capt.Gajanan Karanjikar, President of AIMPA
Special Guest: Capt. Sajan Varghese.

"A performance assessment tool for maritime pilotage operations" - by Jørgen Ernstsen, Norway
When the ship is approaching or leaving a port, a local navigational expert, the pilot, is often provided for assisting the bridge team to safely and efficiently navigate the littoral waters.