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captain58sailin · 03-10-2014, 08:08

The pilot is a paid advisor period, the onus is on the OOW (Officer of the Watch) to provide for the safe navigation of the vessel. The Master is ultimately responsible. I have made a few passages through the Suez canal as a helmsman on a container ship and as far as I am aware there is no overtaking allowed in the canal. The pilots should have been in contact well before they reached the intersection and the ship entering the canal should have slowed to allow the ship already in the canal to pass before entering. One instance, I had a pilot give me an order to make a turn the would have caused a collision with another ship if I had executed the turn, I shouted the order loud enough for the Master to hear me ( he was on the bridge wing at the time), but did not execute the turn, the Master came rushing into the bridge and looked at the rudder angle indicator and saw that I had not made the turn and after a quick word with the pilot, the pilot countermanded the order and set things straight. There will be plenty of finger pointing to go around in this instance. If there was a rudder failure then that will certainly put a different light on things, I am still not understanding why there was such a close quarters encounter in the first place.

sailersteve · 03-10-2014, 10:49

Looks like canal rage to me ! black boat ; i'm bigger & was here first ! blue boat ; to bad ! black boat ; well, now i dare you to change your course ? blue boat ; you asked for it !!!

Zai · 03-10-2014, 11:09

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajq8eag4Mvc

w1651 · 03-10-2014, 11:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lodesman

I think you should ask for a refund.

I would but the coast guard teaching the class won't do it. they're stingy that way.

w1651 · 03-10-2014, 11:33

By the way I didn't say I agreed I just have to sit in the class and listen to what the coast guard instructor says. 9 out of 10 times they are right. This one time not so much.
But the good news is I can use everything they say as proof when I get stopped and boarded out there. Like when the former head of the coast guard said the oil spill in the gulf was not environmentally a problem because the bacteria and amoebas eat the oil. I will never be fined for oil or fuel spillage again Right! He said it on national TV.

Lodesman · 03-10-2014, 17:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by w1651

I would but the coast guard teaching the class won't do it. they're stingy that way.

Yeeeeeaah, that's all shades of scary. Explains a lot, especially some of the - umm, let's call them "authoritative" explanations of the rules, we've seen on these fora.