[al3xandre]

Three questions:

1. How easy would it be to pay a container ship’s captain to do that ? 2. Can you then bet on short term commodity futures to benefits from the event significantly? 3. Do you think this is what’s happening ?

[gonzo]

Normally the ship’s captain isn’t in-charge in the canal. The Suez Port Authority has pilots you have to hire for that.

[glitchcrab]

Correct; I believe the canal's authority has liability here as they provide the mandatory pilot for the duration of the transit.

[pmyteh]

Certainly in cases of collision the owners of the vessel retain liability even with a Suez Canal pilot on board[0]. It's possible that they then have a claim against the canal company for provision of negligent piloting, but I don't know that.

[0]: https://www.reedsmith.com/en/perspectives/2020/10/when-commo... - and the (linked) full judgment is also interesting; the pilot of the ship that caused the collision wasn't doing a good job on that occasion!

[jandrese]

The captain may still be liable if the ship ended up like that due to mechanical failure.

[raptorraver]

I've understood that (in Finland at least) the pilot's aren't actually steering the ship but giving instructions for the captain.

[willyt]

It was caused by a power blackout meaning no-one was in control of the ship. It’s possible someone pulled a breaker or something but I don’t know how easy that would be to do in a way that would not look like sabotage.

[almostarockstar]

This sounds like a great action/drama film.

[mcv]

I've been thinking about this for a Shadowrun (cyberpunk RPG) adventure. It's amazing how much impact a small mishap can have.