200704 High-speed arrival

I recently witnessed an incredible act of seamanship - or rather lack of it.

While waiting for the pilot off the entrance to a very busy container port, with my ship stopped just about 1.5 miles from the entrance to the short channel, a container vessel passed us at 21 knots and only started slowing after missing the channel entrance buoys, passing to the south of them. As she hurtled inwards, a plaintive voice kept calling the pilots on the VHF. She finally slowed passing the inner set of buoys and came to a halt in the basin, just off the berths.

The high-speed arrival shocked not only other ships in the harbour but also the pilot, who was headed for my vessel but had to hurriedly board her, and finally even her own crew, who had to scramble frantically to get the pilot ladder ready with a couple of hundred metres to go to the berth.

Editor's note. This is a particularly shocking case in a VTIS port where frequent position reports are required. One wonders how the bridge team on this ship in a hurry forgot to observe basic seamanship and arrival procedures. One hopes that a dutiful PSC team would have boarded this ship soon after berthing to investigate the obvious case of 'navigating in an unsafe manner' under the applicable conventions, and taken suitable action against the master and deck officers.