General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Just putting this thought out there regarding tugboats and big ships [View all]FHRRK
(518 posts)I believe in the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles the 'pilots' take them out past the breakwater to open seas prior to turning the ship over.
Not sure if that would have helped having a local take them under the bridge, but it seems logical that a local is more familiar and more experienced in navigating the ports and would be more responsive to emergency situations. For example the shit hits the fan and you have trained a couple dozen locals on emergency procedures compared to generic procedures in multiple languages for thousands of Captains.
Btw, I believe these port 'pilots' make over 200k per year. Could see some Execs being pissed off that some HS Graduates are getting paid to guide the ships out of the Ports. Damn bonus on their 2 million dollar salary was impacted by the uneducated takers.