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Not a ringing endorsement of the pilots:
Capt Ranjan Chowdhury, who sailed the Suez canal frequently during his 35-year maritime career, said the canal pilots, mandated by the SCA to steer transiting ships and aid tricky navigation on the waterway, contributed to problems.
“The canal pilots play music inside the bridge, and there’s a lack of AIS-supported backup,” he said, in reference to the tracking system used on ships. “They connect to it with a computer, but the canal pilots are very over-confident when it comes to navigating by sight. Every time they’re eating food, smoking, talking a lot and asking for bribes which keeps them very busy. Navigation is an art, and if you lose concentration for a second while navigating a narrow channel, it should be investigated.”
“We call the Suez canal Marlboro country,” he added. “If we provide them with a big carton of Marlboro cigarettes they’re happy. Not every captain has done their homework before transiting through the Suez canal.”
Chowdhury was equally sceptical about efforts to examine the incident. “The investigation will not be transparent, and it will take a long time due to bureaucracy,” he said. “More importantly, the Suez Canal Authority doesn’t take responsibility, the ship’s captain is the primary individual responsible, which is a loophole compared to the Panama canal.”
I read somewhere else its a $500k fee to take a ship that size through, seems rough that you also have to listen to someone else's music and get shaken down for a bung whilst they take no liability
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greentricky
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There's a ticketing system apparently. Ships are issued a number based on when they arrive. Apparently it's almost unheard of to have any more than 25 ships in front of you and they're now well into the hundreds. Probably even four figures by now.
You can't take your own ship through the Suez. A harbour master has to pilot it for you. One of the reasons why a queueing system is so important.