Rare Throwback Footage Shows Harbor Pilot Boarding Ship in Middle of Hurricane Sandy (Intense)

Back in the year 2012, the east coast of the United States was absolutely bombarded by Hurricane Sandy. The storm ripped its way up the coast, causing damage in several states. Naturally, when we consider hurricanes, we think about what they’re going to do when they make landfall.

However, for a select group, these folks have to worry about what the storm is going to do to vessels in the water. After all, there are countless ships up and down the East Coast. Many of these fell in the path of where this horrendous storm traveled. For one Disney Fantasy cruise, it was underway when the storm struck.

This time, we get to catch up with some incredible footage that shows what was going on during the storm. During said occurrence, it just so happened that the Disney Fantasy cruise was still in the water. With few options, the captain had to pilot the ship full of people through the conditions. When they finally approached the port, in order to dock and allow everybody to get off, pilots had to be exchanged.

Those who are known as “harbor pilots” essentially take over for a ship when it’s being controlling in tight quarters. This might be because of their expertise or their extensive knowledge of a particular area. Essentially, after a ship is done in open water, these pilots will board and help it to navigate the tighter area. Why are they necessary? For starters, just a ship alone can cost upwards of $1 billion. This doesn’t include the precious cargo that might be on board. Still, have questions as to why this sort of specialization might help?

In the video below, we watch quite a stressful situation. In 40 knots of wind, this particular harbor pilot makes his way out to the Disney Fantasy and climbs aboard. It’s not necessarily as simple as stepping from a dock to a ship, either. As it turns out, with the water raging like this, making his way onto the ship is easier said than done. Luckily, he is able to make it. However, it’s not too hard to see how a situation like this could go wrong in a hurry.