Global Pilotage
Most ports in the world require pilotage, the practice where a pilot comes on board near the entrance of the port and then assists the ship’s captain with bringing the ship into port, and docking or anchoring in the designated anchorage. The pilot also helps provide safe passage when the ship departs.

The role of a pilot is that of an adviser. Contrary to common belief, the pilot does not take over command of the ship from the captain. The captain stays in command and is ultimately responsible for the ship. A pilot may assume the conduct of the ship, but only with permission of the master. As both the harbor pilot and captain have the same goal — the safety of the ship — the relationship is mutually courteous and professional.

Pilots are usually licensed master mariners and have years of experience in guiding ships in and out of a specific port. They have a wealth of knowledge about the local currents, piers and docks, water depths, communication procedures and regulations, and local users of the waterway. As no two ports in the world are the same, this knowledge can be indispensable for a ship’s captain who may be visiting a port for the first time or under adverse weather conditions.

The Pilot Ladder
On arrival at the breakwaters or fairway buoy, the ship is met by a pilot boat. The speed of the ship is adjusted to 8 to 15 knots, depending on the capabilities of the pilot boat. Often, a course alteration also is necessary to provide the best possible lee against wind and seas to ensure a safe and efficient pilot transfer from the pilot boat to the ship.

The pilot boat will match the speed of the ship and come alongside near the pilot ladder which is connected to an opening in the hull called a shell door. In port, Eurodam uses these same doors to allow guests and crew to go ashore by means of a gangway. But when the pilot transfers from the boat to the ship, it’s by means of a rope ladder suspended from a shell door.

The pilot is met at the top of the pilot ladder by a licensed deck officer who is in radio communication with the bridge. After the pilot’s ID has been checked he is then escorted to the bridge by the officer. Upon arrival on the bridge the pilot is introduced to the captain and, usually over a cup of coffee, the two discuss the ship’s arrival plan.

Upon departure the same happens, but in reverse.

Pilot David Smith from Bar Harbor, Maine, leaves Eurodam cautiously down the ladder to the pilot boat as both the Eurodam and the boat sail side by side at a speed of 8 knots.

That’s our correspondent Pam hangin’ ten on Eurodam’s bulbous bow, thus fulfilling a dream she has harbored for years. For Pam, this was the apogee of her correspondenthood. She has been talking about “surfing the bulb” since way back in June, and we figured it was just so much hoo-hah, but Pam proved us wrong.

So, what does the bulbous bow do?

The bulbous bow, a standard feature of most large modern ships with displacement hulls, is a protruding bulb at the bow (or front, pointy end) below the waterline. The bulb modifies how water flows around the hull, reducing drag and increasing speed, range, fuel efficiency and stability. Ships with bulbous bows generally have 12 to 15 percent better fuel efficiency than similar vessels without them.

Bulbous bows have been most effective when used on hulls of at least 45 degrees and especially to those greater than 60 degrees. They have been used to greatest effect on large ships with long, narrow hulls such as freighters, navy vessels and various passenger ships. They are less commonly used on short, wide hulls and recreational boats designed for wide speed ranges and planing.

A Eurodam bridge-position marker is painted on the pier to identify where the ship is to dock alongside the berth each time it returns. The marker on the dock is lined up with a marker on the bridge wing so Captain van Donselaar knows he is in the right spot. The ship must dock in the same position within 12 inches of the marker, as the passenger gangway that connects to the ship does not move horizontally, only vertically, to adjust with the tides.

The first five readers who got the right answer were Steve, Karla (who resourcefully found an explanation that HAL provided somewhere), purplenorway, oceanic and nik953. Thanks to everybody who participated in our impromptu sweepstakes.

One last little piece of trivia about the bridge-position marker: if it’s green, the ship docks on the starboard side and if it’s red, it docks port side in.

As you can see, the red lines painted on the catwalk outside the starboard side bridge wing are aligned with the green Eurodam marker on the dock.

If you think you know the answer, leave a comment. The first person to give us the correct answer will receive a 1 gigabyte USB drive embossed with Holland America Line’s logo and loaded with an electronic copy of the Eurodam press kit.

“I have eyes all over to assist me. There are officers forward and aft to relay the distances to me from the ship to shore, as well as an officer on the opposite bridge wing. With my own visual observations and radar, all of these combine to assist me to ensure a safe maneuver in reverse.

“Wind, currents and other ship traffic are all factors that I also have to consider to determine the safest time to turn around and proceed forward. Twenty years of experience doesn’t hurt either!”

Captain van Donselaar stands on an observation window set in the deck of the bridge; there is a window on each bridge wing. These 22 millimeter-thick (.87 inch) glass windows enable the captain to monitor the ship’s position when docking.

The video shows Lifeboat 1 being lowered today for the first time with the boat commander and crew at their stations.

David McGouldrick (left) and Henk de Jong

The server runs all the applications for the ship. Within the server is a Virtual Machine, “VM,” and Holland America Line was the first cruise line to use such technology. VM technology is composed of a hardware server that runs multiple virtual servers using software versus hardware. By using software that creates virtual servers, less hardware equipment is needed and the existing hardware can be used more efficiently.

The server (left) and the core

This is what it takes to get Eurodam connected:
100 personal computers
45 laptops
20 servers
5,000 feet of fiber-optic cable
60,000 feet of network cable