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Piloting the container ship Argos down the Savannah River

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• published: 04 Sep 2015
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The third installment of footage on my visit with the Savannah Pilots brings us on board the container ship Argos. It's day time, and we have great weather for today's run down the Savannah River. Argos is a fairly new ship, having been built in 2011 by Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, China. She weighs in at approximately 50000 tons, is 860 feet in length, 108 feet in breadth, and can carry up to 4253 TEU. She has a B&W; 8K90MC-C, which is rated at 49600 horsepower. This was Argos's first journey to Savannah on her new service route, which is the South Shanghai Express. In the first scene, we see the docking master from Moran as he helps pilot us out of our berth, with the assistance of tractor tug James A. Moran. In the second scene, we're underway in the Savannah River, as we bid farewell to the docking pilot. In the third scene, we give a Sécurité call to inform all concerned vessels and people that we are beginning our journey downriver. We also hear the pilot as he gets in touch with a pilot on an inbound ship, to figure out where we will meet him, so as to safely pass without incident. The Savannah River is fairly hard when it comes to meeting ships, as the shipping lane is rather narrow and there are a number of bends in the river. That, coupled with the fact that depth can be a concern outside of the deepest part of the channel; all of these factors, and more, must be taken into consideration. A lot of training is involved in knowing how to undertake such a meet. In the fourth scene, we see the vessel in question; CMA-CGM container ship Pacific Link. She is a larger ship, at 1096 feet long and 141 feet wide, making her a Post-Panamax ship. Between Pacific Link and Argos, that makes up 249 feet of breadth. The location where we pass Pacific Link, Bight Channel, is only 500 feet wide, meaning there is approximately 80 feet between the two ships, and 80 feet on either side of each ship from the edge of the shipping channel, for a total of 240 feet, which leaves little room for error. Both pilots on the respective ships are knowledgeable and trustworthy, and do an excellent job in passing one another, making it look easy. The fifth scene is of us as we pass the Savannah Pilot base at Fort Pulaski, near Tybee Island. The boat churning up the water behind her is the pilot boat Georgia, which will pick us up and bring us to the next assignment, which is an incoming tanker ship. The sixth scene shows us leaving the Savannah River, passing the breakwater, and entering the Tybee Road. The seventh scene has the pilot contacting the incoming tanker ship to arrange her in such a manner that boarding from the pilot boat will be easy, once we disembark from Argos. The final scene is of us disembarking from Argos and heading for the tanker ship. Enjoy the view in daylight as we transit the Savannah River and the Tybee Road, as well as the communications between the pilot and the crew. If you have any questions about the video, feel free to message me. Comments are welcome.