It’s time to rethink the role (and regulation) of Maryland’s marine pilots

Many were undoubtedly surprised to hear that the grounding of the MV Ever Forward was the fault of a marine pilot who was paying more attention to his cellphone than keeping the ship on course, leading the container ship to spend a month stuck in Chesapeake Bay mud last spring. But that was the recent finding of U.S. Coast Guard investigators looking into why the Ever Forward drifted off course in its passage from Seagirt Marine Terminal to Norfolk, Virginia, on March 13, 2022. Among other things, their 27-page report also strongly recommends that vessel owners and marine operators develop a better policy on cellphones.