This report questions whether the Department for Transport is striking the appropriate balance between its role as a regulator of port safety and its aim to promote the commercial attractiveness of UK ports. This follows evidence that most ports fail to confirm to Government that they comply with best practice guidance on port safety and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has the resources to conduct just four port 'health checks' each year. Representatives of marine pilots, who guide ships in and out of ports, lack confidence that the Department for Transport understands their concerns and the requirements of their work and shares their aim of enhancing maritime safety. The Committee is opposed to a proposal, supported by Government, to relax the rules on the granting of pilotage exemption certificates to more junior navigating officers which could jeopardise safety. If the Government insists on pressing ahead with this change, the Committee recommends that the impact of the change should be monitored. Other recommendations include that: the Maritime and Coastguard Agency should broaden its safety inspection programme so that it undertakes eight inspections per annum; ports should be required to publish statistics on accidents and near-misses; the Government should use its influence to persuade harbour authorities to accept national standards as to who can be authorised as a pilot: if national standards are not adopted the case for legislation on this issue will be compelling.

Completely new book on manoeuvring techniques based on new revealing facts brought to light. Must read for all the mariners especially deck officers, cadets and aspiring marine pilots. The book is result of extensive research and experience. This book investigates the science behind each component of manoeuvring a ship in confined waters, especially in port limits and the art to master it. Based on practical observations and analysis of each major and minor aspect of the manoeuvring of different types of vessels in different types of situations, this book put all relevant knowledge together for the reference of all concerned with pilotage and ship handling.The book has been appreciated by many stake holders in the Marine industry around the world. This will be a great enhancer of knowledge for Marine pilots, for masters and deck officers, for competent port authorities dealing with pilotage, for the cadets learning in the marine training institutes, trainers of ship handling in various shipping companies etc.

Real-time, interactive ship simulators limped onto the scene, in the wake of flight simulators, some years ago. The maritime industries have a long history of conservatism, but this is now changing rapidly. The information age has also swept over ships and shipping, and has been taken to heart to such an extent that, for example, flight simulators now cooperate with ship simulators and import useful new concepts and methodologies. The more than 50 papers contained in this book show what and why. Although traditionally conservative, the marine world is also traditionally international and this has not changed. The papers in the book are by leading authors from all over the world and provide a detailed snap-shot of the rapidly advancing state-of-the-art, together with pointers to the future. The overall theme of MARSIM '96 and therefore also of this book is: Vessel manouevrability and marine simulation research, training and assessment, and includes original papers on topics such as bridge resource management, distant learning and simulators coupled via The Internet, virtual reality, neural networks, rudder-propeller hydrodynamics, prime mover models, squat in shallow water, and many more.