5/5/23 Nagasaki Port Pilot Falls From Diamond Princess

[SeaHunt]

Such a sad situation. I am always scared for the pilots when they make their transfers. 

 

"Nagasaki Port pilot fell in the water at ~5:30 Tokyo time (~20:30 UTC) on Friday, May 5th, while boarding Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess ship, which was about to enter Nagasaki (Japan).

 

The 69-year-old man was reportedly rescued by Diamond Princess' rescue boat, but two hours later, unfortunately, was declared dead.

 

The cruise ship docked at Nagasaki and left port the same day, bound for Yokohama."

 

 

[cristine]

How terribly sad..

 

[Ellipooh]

Oh my goodness

I’ve never heard of anything like this 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Even though all of those pilots seem to make it look easy...this just emphasizes that it is still a dangerous job.  Sad.

[Steelers36]

50 minutes ago, SeaHunt said:

Such a sad situation. I am always scared for the pilots when they make their transfers. 

 

"Nagasaki Port pilot fell in the water at ~5:30 Tokyo time (~20:30 UTC) on Friday, May 5th, while boarding Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess ship, which was about to enter Nagasaki (Japan).

 

The 69-year-old man was reportedly rescued by Diamond Princess' rescue boat, but two hours later, unfortunately, was declared dead.

 

The cruise ship docked at Nagasaki and left port the same day, bound for Yokohama."

 

 

Well that video was informative - not.  

 

Without further information, the man could have had a medical incident and died from that subsequently and the incident could have caused him to fall into the water.

[cr8tiv1]

This is a very unfortunate accident.  I am always amazed at the skill that is required to go from pilot boat to ship and ship to pilot boat.  

 

I am wondering what happened next since the pilot was just boarding the ship to bring it into port.  

 

More information:

 

The late 69-year-old Osuka had more than 15 years of experience as a pilot. 
Also, the sea was calm at the time of the accident.

 

 

A pilot is an indispensable presence when entering a port, as he uses a rope ladder to board ships entering the port and guides them through the waterway.

 

https://www.seanews.com.tr/in-japan-maritime-pilot-yoshihiro-osuga-69-dies-at-pilot-ladder-accident/196681/

 

[LeeW]

Have never seen a rope ladder on a cruise ship.  Pilot boat just matches up to door on ship and pilot steps across when timing is right.  Still a scary move, though.

[mnocket]

1 hour ago, LeeW said:

Have never seen a rope ladder on a cruise ship.  Pilot boat just matches up to door on ship and pilot steps across when timing is right.  Still a scary move, though.

Agreed.  It's also strange that they say he was recovered after 2hrs in the water by a Princess rescue boat.  All I've ever seen is pilots arriving and departing by pilot boats.  If a pilot happened to fall into the water stepping from the pilot boat onto the ship, I would expect the pilot boat would immediately rescue him.  This report just doesn't make sense to me.

Edited May 8, 2023 by mnocket

[LACruiser88]

52 minutes ago, mnocket said:

It's also strange that they say he was recovered after 2hrs in the water

The story does NOT say he was in the water for 2 hrs.  It states that he died 2 hrs AFTER he was recued.

[SharkieRools]

2 hours ago, LeeW said:

Have never seen a rope ladder on a cruise ship.  Pilot boat just matches up to door on ship and pilot steps across when timing is right.  Still a scary move, though.

https://youtu.be/zDSoSi0mCbQ

 

https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Pilot-boat-and-cruise-ship-1.jpg.webp

[mnocket]

49 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

The story does NOT say he was in the water for 2 hrs.  It states that he died 2 hrs AFTER he was recued.

Oops.... my mistake. But why didn't the pilot boat rescue him?  Still doesn't make sense to me.

Edited May 8, 2023 by mnocket

[DavidsNana]

Terrible tragedy for this man and his family.  In 2007 a 30 year veteran pilot fell while disembarking the Island Princess off Nawiliwili Harbor in Kauai.  So it does happen. Thank heavens, not often. While on the Caribbean Princess in early April, I was talking to my grandson and his wife about how dangerous the pilot's job is.

[Colorado Coasty]

1 hour ago, SharkieRools said:

https://youtu.be/zDSoSi0mCbQ

 

https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Pilot-boat-and-cruise-ship-1.jpg.webp

This pretty much the norm and based on my own experience it is always dangerous and sometimes frightening.

[SINJim]

 

I was a passenger and would like to share my firsthand, albeit sad, account of the incident.

 

On Thursday night, the captain informed us that we would meet a pilot the next morning at 5:30 am and that we would shortly be in Nagasaki.

 

It was already light outside around 5:25 am so I took a shower and was getting dressed at 5:30 am when I noticed that the ship was not moving.  At that moment, the captain suddenly announced,  “man overboard, starboard.”  

I grabbed the binoculars and went on my balcony which was on deck 9, starboard. I saw that we were stopped and there was the pilot boat off the stern. On deck 7 below there was lots of panicked discussion as three men were lowering a lifeboat. I saw a Diamond Princess buoy floating in the sea nearby. 

The lifeboat hit the water and zoomed for the pilot boat. That’s when I spotted a man in the water who had a neck preserver on. He was pulled quickly into the lifeboat and then the lifeboat sped back to the ship. 

As the lifeboat neared I feared the worst. The man seemed Japanese and in his late 50s (later reports said he was 69). He was in work clothes (ie overalls) and wore white gloves. The alarming part is that he wasn’t moving and he had a lot of white foam coming from his mouth. 

The lifeboat was raised and he was taken off at deck 7. 

The captain updated everyone that medical personnel were working on the pilot. He added that unfortunately, we don’t know when we can continue into Nagasaki as we don’t have a pilot.  

Shortly thereafter, the captain announced that we were cleared to proceed without a pilot.  This probably had to do with the need to get the pilot to a hospital. 

As we docked there were police and medics waiting with a stretcher. Some crew exited the ship and spoke to the waiting party with what seemed like bad news. 

The medics packed up and departed. A half-hour later, a van backed up to the ship and a body bag was loaded. The time was just 8:15 am. 

As we were preparing to set sail, the captain came on to say that the pilot fell and "did not survive."  No other information about the incident was shared.

I do not know if the pilot had a heart attack that led to the fall into the water or perhaps vice versa. The motionless body and the mouth foaming could also be the sign of a broken neck. Perhaps he lost his balance and fell into the water backward, snapping his neck.

 

Naturally, I did not take any pictures.  While in the moment I did not notice other people taking pictures either, there weren't many people out at 5:30 am and they probably had the good manners to not document this.

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, SINJim said:

 

I was a passenger and would like to share my firsthand, albeit sad, account of the incident.

 

On Thursday night, the captain informed us that we would meet a pilot the next morning at 5:30 am and that we would shortly be in Nagasaki.

 

It was already light outside around 5:25 am so I took a shower and was getting dressed at 5:30 am when I noticed that the ship was not moving.  At that moment, the captain suddenly announced,  “man overboard, starboard.”  

I grabbed the binoculars and went on my balcony which was on deck 9, starboard. I saw that we were stopped and there was the pilot boat off the stern. On deck 7 below there was lots of panicked discussion as three men were lowering a lifeboat. I saw a Diamond Princess buoy floating in the sea nearby. 

The lifeboat hit the water and zoomed for the pilot boat. That’s when I spotted a man in the water who had a neck preserver on. He was pulled quickly into the lifeboat and then the lifeboat sped back to the ship. 

As the lifeboat neared I feared the worst. The man seemed Japanese and in his late 50s (later reports said he was 69). He was in work clothes (ie overalls) and wore white gloves. The alarming part is that he wasn’t moving and he had a lot of white foam coming from his mouth. 

The lifeboat was raised and he was taken off at deck 7. 

The captain updated everyone that medical personnel were working on the pilot. He added that unfortunately, we don’t know when we can continue into Nagasaki as we don’t have a pilot.  

Shortly thereafter, the captain announced that we were cleared to proceed without a pilot.  This probably had to do with the need to get the pilot to a hospital. 

As we docked there were police and medics waiting with a stretcher. Some crew exited the ship and spoke to the waiting party with what seemed like bad news. 

The medics packed up and departed. A half-hour later, a van backed up to the ship and a body bag was loaded. The time was just 8:15 am. 

As we were preparing to set sail, the captain came on to say that the pilot fell and "did not survive."  No other information about the incident was shared.

I do not know if the pilot had a heart attack that led to the fall into the water or perhaps vice versa. The motionless body and the mouth foaming could also be the sign of a broken neck. Perhaps he lost his balance and fell into the water backward, snapping his neck.

 

Naturally, I did not take any pictures.  While in the moment I did not notice other people taking pictures either, there weren't many people out at 5:30 am and they probably had the good manners to not document this.

So sad. Prayers for his family. Thank you for your update.

 

[LouChamp]

On 5/8/2023 at 2:17 PM, LeeW said:

Have never seen a rope ladder on a cruise ship.  Pilot boat just matches up to door on ship and pilot steps across when timing is right.  Still a scary move, though.

Aloha. I have seen it many times. unfortunately it shows how dangerous the job really is even though they make it look simple. My blessings prayers and love to the pilot and his family.

[DallasGuy75219]

On 5/8/2023 at 1:17 PM, LeeW said:

Have never seen a rope ladder on a cruise ship.  Pilot boat just matches up to door on ship and pilot steps across when timing is right.  Still a scary move, though.

Depending on the size of the pilot boat, they don't always match up to one of the ship's doors where the pilot can just walk from one to another.