Suffolk, England

The mv Hansa Marburg is not a large container ship but she certainly has got a very 'bulbous nose' this assists in water flow around the hull and creates less drag effectively giving more speed and more fuel efficiency

The new livery Harwich Haven Pilot Boats giving it a bit of wellie, these boats take the pilots to and from The Sunk off Harwich & Felixstowe, they control the area known as The Thames, because of shifting sand/shingle these giant ships are guided into the ports by Ships Pilots

These Pilots have local knowledge of the shipping lanes and the shallows and give advice to the Ships Captain on navigating his/her vessel into port and docking the same vessel onto its berth, the Captain remains in charge of the vessel and only seeks guidance from the Pilot

Ferry and Liner Captains do not usually need a Pilot as they are licensed pilots in themselves often doing the 'run' continuously

The Sunk is a Pilots Station situated in the North Sea it is pretty much like Piccadilly Circus, some ships are anchored here until called for, others are passing by in the shipping lanes, the Pilot meets these vessels and once encountered climbs either the Jacobs Ladder or a series of steps often 40' high and in all weather conditions

The latest news on the whereabouts of all vessels in the Sunk/HHA area can be found on this link

http://www.havenais.com/current.php?mmsi=0&lat=51.9091199312&lon=1.48384094238&zoom=10&mtime_start=0&mtime_end=0&u=1275858453748