On Monday, March 23, 2020, Admiral Osama Rabie announced the successful transit of the Italian passenger ship COSTA DIADEMA in the northbound convoy through the new Suez Canal, coming from the United Arab Emirates heading to Italy. Special measures were applied, as 65 Coronavirus cases were reported on board which required piloting the vessel remotely through pilotage team boarded on two escorting tugs in full coordination with the transit control offices and navigation monitoring stations in a first of its kind scenario in the history of the Suez Canal.
Based in Estonia, Baltic Workboats is a long-tenured boatbuilder for multiple markets, including the demanding pilot boat sector. Late in 2025 in New Orleans BWB debuted a new hybrid electric 17m model, a boat that leans on more than 15 years of accrued experience building larger hybrid electric vessels. Carl Mahler, BWB’s North American sales lead and a harbor pilot himself, discussed with Maritime Reporter TV the value proposition offered by the shipyard, from manufacturing process to...
