Ship captain: how pilots avert disasters like Baltimore bridge

+ sick and tired of being sick and tired US Edition - Today's top story: I've captained ships into tight ports like Baltimore, and this is how captains like me work with harbor pilots to avoid deadly collisions [View in browser]( US Edition | 27 March 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Horses have lived in the Americas for millions of years]( - [Christian Palestinians face many barriers to Jerusalem]( - [Can anti-abortion doctors actually challenge the FDA?]( Lead story As the cargo ship Dali made its way out of its berth and into the tight quarters of the Port of Baltimore in the early morning of March 26, the ship pilots advising the captain and crew were there to help them move the ship carefully away from the pier, under the Francis Scott Key Bridge and into the Patapsco River. Its ultimate destination: Colombo, Sri Lanka. But something catastrophic happened: Instead of going under the bridge span, the ship apparently lost power and thus the ability to be steered. It rammed into a bridge support, collapsing the span. I interviewed veteran ship’s officer Allan Post, deputy superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, about the role that ship pilots play in the often difficult and even treacherous ship travel into and out of ports. Pilots are “[well-practiced in close-quarters maneuvering](” and navigating specific bodies of water, he said. They spend years under the tutelage of senior pilots who teach them about the local waterways, navigation, currents and tides. In fact, when would-be pilots take their professional exam, “they have to draw the charts that they would be using in the pilotage waters – from memory.” Whatever caused the disaster, it was “absolutely” every captain, pilot and crew member’s nightmare, says Post. [ [Science from the scientists themselves. Sign up for our weekly science email newsletter.]( ] Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Democracy Today's newsletter supported by [readers like you.]( The ship Dali amid the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. AP Photo/Matt Rourke [I’ve captained ships into tight ports like Baltimore, and this is how captains like me work with harbor pilots to avoid deadly collisions]( Allan Post, Texas A&M University Two ship pilots were on board the large cargo vessel that hit Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. A veteran ship captain describes the role these pilots play in close-quarter maneuvering. 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Han, University of Tennessee Transportation agencies plan for events like major bridge or highway collapses, but these events can disrupt traffic for months and affect residential neighborhoods as well as motorists. Trending on site - [Israel’s ‘Iron Wall’: A brief history of the ideology guiding Benjamin Netanyahu]( - [I’ve been studying congressional emails to constituents for 15 years − and found these 4 trends after scanning 185,222 of them]( - [Amazon, SpaceX and other companies are arguing the government agency that has protected labor rights since 1935 is actually unconstitutional]( Today's graphic 📈 [A chart showing the number of texts, chats and lengthy calls that the National Problem Gambling Helping received from 2016 to 2024. 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