Pilot of Doomed Bulker ?Rocknes? Says Vessel ?Seemed OK?

?This isn?t unusual,? the captain told me, said Vermund Halhjem, the Rocknes pilot assigned to take the ship out of the Tjausundet Sound. The pilot confirmed that the ship was equipped with approved nautical maps (both electronic and on paper), a gyro, a global positioning system, and all normal navigational aids.

The pilot said that the Rocknes was loaded with gravel, tilted slightly as it made a slow turn, but the captain told him that the ship was sailing with divided cargo in one of the holds. Apparently one of them shifted to starboard.

The captain said that he would shift some of the cargo more to port, and that would take 20 minutes to get the ship upright.

Pilot Halhjem was the only person on the ship?s bridge to survive the maritime tragedy. The ship?s Captain and a German Captain who was in training are among the 14 persons still missing and presumed dead.