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This is how it looks in the summer.

looks close. pilots are optional/not required?

I spent a few years driving submarines. Typically, the small ones (SSNs) train to pull in and out of places without a pilot, and moor without tugs. It's nice when you can get a local pilot, but they're not strictly necessary, really more of a liability issue. You know, "We ran aground, but we were following the pilot's recommendations, so the captain only goes to jail instead of getting shot before going to jail."

I assume the same is true in the commercial world, except with more of an emphasis on the financial aspect. Hiring a pilot probably has some quantifiable impact on reducing the risk of collisions and groundings (insurance types have any numbers here?), but the cost is significant. I bet some wonk has set the price of a pilot to be proportional to the risk reduction percent times the potential loss in the event of a collision or grounding. ... Or at least, that's how it'd work in an efficient market, right? :)

Cool pictures.

They're not taking pilot because the were 4 ships just recently, all moving towards our port and we only have one pilot. And because of the iced in harbours there's no
small boats to board or unboard the pilot. Once he's on board he can only disembark
on our pier then go to another ship, sometimes 300 miles away. So some of these ships wont wait.

Sorry, hard to explain. Lack of GOOD extra pilots and ice is the reason these Capts are doing it themselves. Not money because the pilot fees are VERY reasonable here.

I was a Ship's Agent for 35 years, and virtually all my ships wanted a pilot, and when I said we had no tugs (they always wanted 2 at least, no matter the $$) they then wanted the pilot even more.

Where is that?

Summerside, P.E.I. Canadian Maritimes., Northumberland Strait.

Yes the Arthur Anderson, sister ship to the Edmund Fitzgerald. Was iced in on Superior, I believe.

Edmund Fitzgerald...1975

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Sorry, I'm not politicizing anything. Making an observation on something the OP said. He has said on 2 occasions that these ships have left port without any help. Maybe, just maybe, a pilot is not needed as has been in the past. Maybe technology has taken over a job that he did and he is now seeing the future. A " good thread" maybe, but ships leaving the dock is not on my list of things to see. Happy New Year.

poorly executed walk back............... 2 points out of a possible 10.

LoL.... Helicopters, FTW.

Columbia River Bar Pilots | News

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The CCGS Cornwallis was tied up in Halifax when I came through. We took a quick tour and some of the interesting things I noticed is they had a tiny bar since it was a civilian vessel. We thought that was pretty cool. For me the neatest deal was if the skipper wanted he could drive the boat with a remote control around his waist.

When they do buoy/ATON ops the skipper goes down on deck with the remote around his waist and gets the boat close to work the buoy's. It's easier to just be standing down on deck leaning over the side, driving the boat in range for the crew to hook the buoy. I'd imagine the newest USCG has now, can do that, but back in the day it was way ahead of our 180's who were built in the 1940's and still working until around 2000.

Another weird thing that happened to us on that mission down to Boston was the Mohawk people in Quebec went on the warpath. Ya for real!!! Only they had AK's and all sorts of modern equipment smuggled onto the rez. I remember driving the cutter under a bridge with turned over cars and burning tires, with tanks on one side and make shift bunkers on the other. We flew our parade ensigns so we wouldn't be mistaken for the Canadian Army who was dealing with the issue. Bare in mind this is 1990...not the old day's. Well, really old day's.

Other things I noticed as a West Coast kid, was the Atlantic was chocked full of garbage. You couldn't sail a thousand yards without seeing crap floating in the water. Pretty sad. And the harbors all around PEI are topped off with huge jelly fish....but PEI was prettiest emerald, island I'd ever seen. I'd imagined Ireland must be green like that. Just striking green.

Sorry for the ramble...all these freighter pictures bring back my time in the Lakes. In a year and a half I'd sailed all the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence seaway out into the Atlantic and as far south as Nantucket. I was in the Great Lakes for four years. We were gone from homeport on a average 211 day's of the year. Weird for a shallow water sailor.-WW

WetWork: Thanks for your service. Welcome here. Where you in Eastern Oregon? Look up Paul K, he's in La Grande.

A question founded in ignorance...are the various ports so very different that a competent captain/helmsman can't be provided accurate guidance and only a local pilot can safely navigate?

Ships/Captains mostly want local pilot knowledge on the bridge. Virtually all the Ships I've seen at this port have only visited once, so they have no past knowledge to fall back on. Whereas perhaps lakers for example, that become familiar with ports that they visit often become more comfortable on their own, IMO

I'm loving these pictures. I find them fascinating.

I want to say maybe 10 years ago, got to the beach house at night and there was a boat about the size of a tugboat, stuck on the rocks just outside, down the cliff in Morro Strand. They were using a second boat to pull it off the rocks. It wasn't going anywhere, and they waited all night. It was gone by the next morning. I would not want to be the captain who ran aground, or hit a pier. That's a bit like a bus driver plowing into a bus stop, or a pilot running into a loading gate.

As I understand it, the lakers pretty much do the same run all season long so they know the ins/outs of their route. When an ocean going vessel navigates the rivers between Lake Huron and Lake Erie they must use a pilot.

[QUOTE=Oh Haha;9415248]As I understand it, the lakers pretty much do the same run all season long so they know the ins/outs of their route. When an ocean going vessel navigates the rivers between Lake Huron and Lake Erie they must use a pilot.[/QUOTE

That's the way I thought it to be., Thanks

Welcome, Thanks for your story, and BTW 944's are great cars. I had a 944S and loved it. Thanks for your kind words for us Canucks.

Took another ship in today
 

Probably the last for this season, more importantly the last ship for my good friend
(the pilot) as he's officially retired today dec 31.

He's pictured below on the bridge with the red jacket. He's a great guy and I'll miss
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