What happens during a snapback event?

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.

High water is necessary for salvage - 1 p.m. is the earliest possible start for the next salvage attempt of the 400-metre-long vessel.

To monitor the vessel’s progress, the pilot had set up his portable pilotage unit (PPU). He had connected the rate-of-turn generator to the vessel’s pilot plug and had set a variable range marker on the radar with a radius of 0.5 nm.

Boarding Accident Claims Marine Pilot's Life off Yalova, Turkey. Maritime-Executive.com as well as Seanews.com.tr report unanimously on the death of a Turkish pilot

"Analysis of reports indicates that pilot ladders (Pilot Transfer Arrangements, or PTAs) and
intentional deviations from safety procedures remain the main causes of near misses..."

According to Captain’s visual observance and overheard radio talks, bulk carrier OLIVE BAY anchor chain entangled with the chain of another ship, on Jan 8 or 9, in Yangtze estuary between Chongming island and Taicang, Shanghai area.

The Virginia Pilot Association has ordered a high-speed, harbor pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. It’s the pilots’ tenth launch built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard. Delivery is scheduled for mid-2023.

Original article published on Baird Maritime

Irish builder Safehaven Marine has delivered a new pilot boat ordered by the Port of Sines in southwestern Portugal near the country’s capital of Lisbon.