Normally the ship’s captain isn’t in-charge in the canal. The Suez Port Authority has pilots you have to hire for that.
Re:Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
by glitchcrab on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @03:10AM
(#26564353)
Correct; I believe the canal's authority has liability here as they provide the mandatory pilot for the duration of the transit.
Certainly in cases of collision the owners of the vessel retain liability even with a Suez Canal pilot on board[0]. It's possible that they then have a claim against the canal company for provision of negligent piloting, but I don't know that.
[0]: https://www.reedsmith.com/en/perspectives/2020/10/when-commo... - and the (linked) full judgment is also interesting; the pilot of the ship that caused the collision wasn't doing a good job on that occasion!
Re:Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
by jandrese on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @03:15AM
(#26564382)
The captain may still be liable if the ship ended up like that due to mechanical failure.
Re:Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
by raptorraver on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @03:47AM
(#26564536)
I've understood that (in Finland at least) the pilot's aren't actually steering the ship but giving instructions for the captain.
It was caused by a power blackout meaning no-one was in control of the ship. It’s possible someone pulled a breaker or something but I don’t know how easy that would be to do in a way that would not look like sabotage.
Re:Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
by almostarockstar on Wednesday March 24, 2021 @05:15AM
(#26565035)
This sounds like a great action/drama film.
1. How easy would it be to pay a container ship’s captain to do that ? 2. Can you then bet on short term commodity futures to benefits from the event significantly? 3. Do you think this is what’s happening ?