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A comment on The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has Collapsed. Parent comment

Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by paddy_m on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @11:28AM (#39829130)
It shouldn't happen. There will be investigations. I think that having a properly operating ship is the captain's responsibility.

But the ship's pilot [1] (not captain) should know exactly how the boat will handle and the exact course of action. Pilots are extremely well paid ($200-$400k) and the tests are very stringent. Friends have told me that the Narraganset Bay pilot test involves drawing every shipping navigation bouy on a map by hand to within ~200 yards from memory alone, compass, ruler and scaled map provided.

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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by Joker_vD on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @12:00PM (#39829399)
Where do you get those salary numbers from? The info about this "Dali" ship is not private: [0], and it lists the master's salary as $10,200 per month.

[0] https://www.balticshipping.com/vessel/imo/9697428/seafarers

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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by TylerE on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @12:05PM (#39829461)
The pilot is employed by the port/government, not the ship. They drive to just outside the entrance, then they get off onto a tugboat or some other small utility vessel.
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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by CalChris on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @01:37PM (#39830577)
Harbor pilots are licensed by the state (Maryland) require a degree from one of the maritime colleges, deck license, …, are represented by a pilots union (Association of Maryland Pilots) but are employed independently.
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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by emilyst on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @12:06PM (#39829468)
I believe the parent comment is referring to the harbor pilot job specifically.
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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by shagie on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @01:04PM (#39830212)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_pilot#Compensation

> The Florida Alliance of Maritime Organizations reported that Florida pilots' annual salaries range from US$100,000 to US$400,000, on par with other US states that have large ports. Columbia Bar pilots earn approximately US$180,000 per year. A 2008 review of pilot salaries in the United States showed that pay ranged from about US$250,000 to over US$500,000 per year.

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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by brewdad on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @03:13PM (#39831686)
Columbia Bar pilots are grossly underpaid.
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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by shagie on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @03:50PM (#39832087)
Having visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum (I would strongly recommend if there) https://www.crmm.org - that is 100% correct. Its a place that they send other pilots to do things like rough water training.
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Re:The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland Has C... by sib on Tuesday March 26, 2024 @05:15PM (#39832959)
In this case, a seemingly pedantic distinction matters:

Pilot != Master

Pilots are very highly paid

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