Suez Canal blocked by stuck cargo ship

[beyond]

4. Often when there are two Pilots....they don't properly divide duties up and really only one Pilot is working...the other probably eating or reading a newspaper (really). Would be interesting to see the internal procedures for large ships (Suez Canal Authority). You can have 5 Pilots on the bridge...but if duties such as: comms, collision avoidance, conning, are not divided properly...it doesn't help.

I don't know of any place in the world where the pilots "divide" duties. It doesn't work that way on a merchant ship. In the suez there really isn't much to divide, there is no collision avoidance, because everyone goes the same speed, comms are minimal, etc. etc. etc. Even in developed places that regularly use two pilots (Sabine, Maryland, and Bremerhaven come to mind) the second pilot is there for support, maybe a second set of eyes, but they aren't active in the movement.

7. Even though the Master is overall in-charge, he/she is highly dependent on the Pilots conning the ship with skill.

The Captain has the sole responsibility for directing the ship. The pilots can offer their guidance and opinions, but the captain can choose to refuse it. In this case (according to the owners) the Captain and both pilots did everything right and there was no way to get a ship of that size with that many containers stacked on deck to react fast enough to steering movements after the wind gust(s) moved the ship toward the bank.

Everyone talks about the master being in charge in the canal is just playing make believe. The second you take the conn from a suez pilot you're going to be in a world of hurt. In the suez the captain really can't choose to refuse an order from the pilot... I mean they can, but you'll probably end up in jail and have your ship detained and need a 40' container of marlboro reds to get released.

Wanna see a ship captain get nervous? Approach a bend in the suez while the pilot is out on the wing praying. In the captains mind he is running the calculus of taking the conn and getting flogged by the egyptian government or letting yourself hit the bank, both of which are probably going to be similarly painful outcomes.

Transiting the canal on a gray hull with diplomatic immunity with a U.S. diplomat onboard is a very different reality than what the Ever Given bridge was facing.

two pilots were both senior chief pilots with 30-plus years of experience.

Senior chief grand master of the 4 degree of the grand order of suez piloting is a fancy title they give themselves that means absolutely nothing and is a function of how politically connected they are.

 

[Don't Give Up the Ship]

I don't know of any place in the world where the pilots "divide" duties. It doesn't work that way on a merchant ship. In the suez there really isn't much to divide, there is no collision avoidance, because everyone goes the same speed, comms are minimal, etc. etc. etc. Even in developed places that regularly use two pilots (Sabine, Maryland, and Bremerhaven come to mind) the second pilot is there for support, maybe a second set of eyes, but they aren't active in the movement.

Many excellent good points above. Regarding use of two pilots (who sometimes divide duties, one Pilot conns, other talks to traffic, or handles the VHF, for example). This is rare but does occur in some places where large tankers transit such as in the Houston Ship Channel and the Sabine River (both require two pilots when the ships beam is 120 ft). These pilot associations have internal procedures that provide guidance on the effective use of two pilots -often not done well at all. At the simulator I used to work at, we would have pilots discuss and practice dividing some duties in order to increase the ability of the "Conning Pilot" to maintain situational awareness. In the case of the Eagle Atome (merchant ship) collision with an inland tow, the two Sabine pilots did in fact divide some duties, although not effectively. Their techniques were "less than adequate" given the resulting collision and other factors (one Pilot had other issues). I participated in an investigation of this collision. All the finer points did not come out in the NTSB Report on the collision, however some did:

Quote from pg. 55 of the Eagle Atome Collision NTSB Report:

"The piloting guidelines established by the Sabine Pilots Association stated that radio communication and other miscellaneous tasks should be handled by ―pilot no. 2‖—in this case, the second pilot—so that the pilot with the conn could focus on navigation. Nevertheless, the first pilot was conducting the radio calls during the transit, and he did not give the rudder order at Missouri Bend until after he had concluded the 45-second radio conversation with the Dixie Vengeance master. The NTSB therefore concludes that, contrary to

pilot association guidelines, the first pilot on the Eagle Otome was conducting a radio call at a critical point in the waterway, and the radio call interfered with his ability to fully focus on conning the vessel."

Division of Pilotage duties is very rare (but is required by a few Pilotage Organizations and written into their internal process). Perhaps, properly done, it might make sense for ships as large as the Ever Given transiting the Suez canal. One thing for sure, if a Pilotage Association/Port has such a requirement-it should be followed.