Sistership EVER FORWARD Run Aground in the Chesapeake

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

...Pilot incompetence is fairly common even here in Australia, one missed the turn at Caloundra entering Brisbane and occupied the beach,

recall this grounding very well, as i was operation manager for the ship ("Anro Asia") at the time. we got her off eventually, but it was a close run thing...she nearly broke in half and would have been the most expensive CTL of all times if this had happened. think the pilot got a slap on the wrist and a few months gardening leave

if it sounds like i'm cynical, that's because i am...

cheers,

[El Pinguino]

And then there was the 'Golden Gate Sun' which ran up under Shortland Bluff - right on the main leads - early one morning. Word on the street was that the pilot - who had the previous evening been out at some pilots' knees up - was 'tired and emotional' at the time. He kept on piloting - the master ( Sanko Line) got the boot.

[skipperpete]

There’s a good side to pilots too, one boarded a ship here in Townsville to depart the Harbour but the captain smelt strongly of alcohol and denied drinking. Pilot called the appropriate people and the Capt submitted to a breath test and was removed from command. We had a female pilot entering Cairns and had a propulsion failure at about the Marlin marina and she calmly drifted us up to trinity wharf and the tug arrived in time to push us the 100’ to the wharf.

[Brioche]

The Coast Guard report is a little disappointing compared to some NTSB reports on analogous situations. I remember reading a report on an allision where the NTSB went into detail concerning surly pilot's interaction with a Chinese master. The Chinese culture gives great deference to rank and authority, making it more difficult for a master to intercede when the pilot errs. While the CG report references that vaguely, it doesn't go into the fact that the shared responsibility requires the pilot to communicate with the bridge crew so they all are agreed on what is happening. In this case the pilot relied entirely on his PPU and shunned any use of the ship's navigation system -- or even looking out the window. While that in itself was unwise, it also had the effect of shutting off the 3d Officer and crew -- only the pilot had the "valid" information, and the others could not see what he saw. While the 3d Officer did try to politely intercede by repeating the heading when they were passing the turn, he was overly deferential. Had the pilot discussed the turning point with reference to a shared navigational tool, perhaps the timid 3d Officer may have spoken up a little more forcefully. Even in our little boat, the Admiral is properly insistent that we discuss course changes, particularly in handling tacks and gybes in shallow water.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by HeywoodJ

The 65 (well, maybe 64 now) members of the Association of Maryland Pilots make an average of US$485,000/year. They manage 4000 vessel transits of the Chesapeake in that year, which works out to 61 transits/year or just over one per week.

Unconscionable that with that work schedule a pilot can't manage to stay off the phone during a transit.

Well it was his girlfriend on the long call then screenshots of the plotter images then complaints about the mooring line handlers. Then there was a previous incident with a 600’ RoRo.