A marine pilot became a social media celebrity earlier this week after dramatic footage of a car carrier entering the port of Durban went viral on social media.
Port of Durban’s marine pilot, Rainer Rauntenberg, who has been a marine pilot for more than 14 years, successfully steered the vessel in adverse weather conditions believed to have been caused by tropical cyclone Enawo - which struck Madagascar last week.
The Port of Durban had to deploy three tugs to steer in the vessel. In normal weather conditions, one or two tugs are used.
The wind speed on Sunday was recorded between 30 to 40 knots and was considered a very high-speed wind which could create difficulty in manoeuvring vessels.
“It was challenging to bring in a vessel in such rough weather conditions but my focus was to make sure that it was safely berthed,” said Rauntenberg.
The YouTube video received 14 500 shares and 547 000 views.
TNPA has uploaded the video to its YouTube channel – WATCH IT HERE.
