Pilot Boat in Croatia

This episode of What's Going On With Shipping examines the videos showing the Brazilian training ship Cisne Branco striking a bridge in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

A container ship is reported to be stranded off the coast of Gibson Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Marine Tracker lists the ship as the Ever Forward and that it is aground. It appears there are several tugboats out of Baltimore trying to assist. The company that operates the ship, Evergreen, is the same one that was responsible for the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal a year ago.

Giant Container Ship EVER GIVEN grounded and blocked Suez canal AIS data shows the MV Ever Given is stuck sideways within the canal, preventing ships from passing in either direction,Several tugs have been on scene for several hours working to dislodge the ship ,An ultra-large containership is aground and blocking ship traffic in the Suez Canal

Yellow Magnet with Sling to secure Pilot Ladder

Safehaven Marine have launched ‘Ederra 6’ a new Interceptor 48 pilot boat for the MVD Pilots Association in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

A ride along with a harbor pilot as he guided a cargo ship from Galveston Bay through the Houston Ship Channel into a port on Buffalo Bayou.

The first-known chart of the Mersey estuary was dated 1689 – to assist sailors approaching the port. The route for ships through to the port of Liverpool, through sand banks and the powerful tides of the Irish Sea and Mersey Estuary, was a challenging business.

Footage from Germany, Bremerhaven

How do marine pilots work? Example: Bringing a bulkcarrier alongside to „Hansaport“ in Hamburg. Here the tugboats „Prompt“, „Resolute“ and „Bulldog“ are involved. The master has to rely on the pilot. One reason is, that he can‘t know how to deal with these tugs. A maneuver like this is only safe, when the pilot has a lot of practical experience. A master who is doing a maneuver like this only about once or twice a month and each time with tugs he doesn’t know in areas he hasn’t been to...