Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...
NTSB issued an investigation report on the contact of tow William C with a Rock Island railroad bridge protection cell, on Des Plaines River, in January 2020. The investigation established that high speed prevented the pilot to correct the tow’s position after completing the transit through the previous bridge.
In 2006 I was invited to join Port of London Pilot Capt. Tom Miller on one of his last few voyages before his retirement. A pilot cutter ferried us from the Gravesend Port office to the Port of London Terminal where the Hebridean Spirit waited for us to board. Once aboard, the ship's captain manoeuvred the vessel off its moorings and into the channel. After handing the vessel over to Capt. Miller, the Captain joined the ship's company for dinner, and the first offer and a helmsman remained...
Manoeuvring large ships at close quarters and on shallow water is one of the most difficult aspects of shiphandling because of the complex hydraulic interactions depending on the ships' speeds, on the water depth and on lateral restrictions like in canals. Training is conducted both on meeting and on overtaking ships in shallow waters. This video shows how overtaking in a canal can easily fail.
More information: http://www.portrevel.com/3781-shiphan...
