During the New York dock strike (I think in the late 1950s) the master of the original Queen Elizabeth berthed her without the aid of tugs. This involved doing a three-point turn using only her two engines (no bow or stern thrusters) and rudder. So tight were the tolerances that the port authorities warned him against it but he brought it off earning the heartfelt thanks of the passengers who might otherwise have been held up for days or delivered to another port.

The hardest Maneuver was avoiding the stupid choice of music in this video.

That's impressive. You managed to make me sea sick just watching a video.

This is simply using Bow Thrusters and Initial Steering Affect cojointly with use of Port Anchor ! Its called a Handbrake Turn Dudes ! I was a young 3/0 Officer in 1984 and this was Routine in Supertankers !

You can't find worse music to a clip like that. Period!

The Captain and the navigation crew certainly earned their paycheck that day!

That captain is just a badass, plain and simple

Just another day on the ferry line. They're out in all sorts of weather everyday. But we don't think of them that way. When it's over the crew sat back and didn't expect to do anything less. It's their jobs. That's professionalism. I would feel safe on that ferry line after seeing what this Captain and crew could do, and did, in sudden adverse weather conditions. Get me ashore in one piece is all anyone can ask. A little excitement in the process is no extra charge. That wasn't done by accident. The crew knew exactly what they could do (in that space), what they were doing, and were trained to do. And they're going to have to do dockings over and over again. Better and worse weather than this one. When they can't do it, they cancel the schedule till the weather improves.

stayed 2 seconds then quit to save my hearing .

Before watching, mute video, turn screen to dark, hit play, and go grill a steak. Come back in 6 and 1/2 minutes and enjoy your meal.

Rick Pilots in some of these ports, are ex-captains of those ferries, otherwise cannot "suvive". Actually is not needed as the ferries captains call these ports so many times per week. Especially during summer time the weekly itinerary consists of 50-70 ports!! So fatigue is another issue. Agree that those ferries should be replaced by new but again seamanship in those conditions is a "case study" like no other!

First of all the Port of Lemnos is a very difficult port to dock in depending on the direction and speed of the wind, second the vessel Theofilos of NEL lines is a very old vessel built in the mid 70's, recently it had some engine upgrades as well as some cosmetic upgrades just to keep it in service for a few more years, third Theofilos had technical problems and was operating in half power when this video was made and fourth, come on gentlemen it's a Greek captain! Best captains in the world!

Either the master has kept up his exemption, or the pilot really knows his stuff. Never seen a handbrake turn done with a ship before.

Now that is skil. Love to PS anchor use. I will remember that trick

Whoever manufactured that anchor should use this as advertising!

The bestest KZfaq title ever I saw in my life

because we already had a heart attack at the loud, abrupt intro!

Eine Meisterleistung des Kapitans dieses Moster, in diesem kleinen Haven anzudocken

Very skilled. But captains of Greek ships face these issues all the time during Winter in the Aegean Sea.

I have been on ships like this when we would come back in a storm and get blown all over the place. We usually ended up anchoring out in a cove somewhere for the night until the storm passes much to the despair of a crew that wants to go home, but instead had to take turns on anchor watch till the storm passes.

Now that's real seamanship.

If you look closely, he has an anchor hung up on the bottom. What he is doing is trying to pull it loose. Saw this once in the Navy.

This skipper knows his ship & knows this harbour, especially the holding power of the harbour bottom. Got it right down on where to set the anchor & let the wind do the work of spinning him around. Big boat or small. Same handling principles.

Thanks for the info. With the wind and seas, it didn't seem the anchor would actually hold. to use as a pivot.

The pilot certainly earned his pay that day. That job would unnerve me!

I like the way he eased out that port anchor, after he looked at it awhile, and slid back there where he wanted to be. This guy is good !

On eleuthera, a mailboat/ferry has to come into narrow gap between Eleuthera and Current Island, in a ten knot current, reverse direction and power into a 25 metre wide channel at right angles to the current!

Beautifully done , using his anchor like that !

that captain was amazing under the condition he was in

Greek captains another day in the office...daily routine really 👌👌👌

Bow thrusting around a anchored line in that wind, in such tight quarters, nearly swamped that military Corvette. He should have moored it off line and waited for the winds to die down. Being a captain means making clear decisions that protect the lives of his passengers and crew, along with respecting the safety of those on ships around his own. Clearly, this is not being done here.

How many of these "Maneuvers" have you seen in your life to make this the hardest one?

Believe it or not. This kind of stuff happens every day, somewhere around the world. The captain, and pilot of ships like that make use of the tools they have to make a safe operation work. Bow thrusters, and screw reversal are used in conjunction with the anchor(s), and professional seamanship all come together to dock the ships. It looked like the hardest to you because you probably never saw it before. Good video.

Whoa. I might have waited till the winds were down.

I kept my boat in Lemnos for three months and yes it gets very windy there. But, these ferry people have got it down to a fine T because they're doing it all the time.

the captain-is he heavy drunk!? absolutly YES YES YES............. OMG

This maneuver would of been materialized and discussed with the Captain and crew before the docking. The winds and ocean conditions are very unpredictable in Greece especially late evening form the hot climates.The vessel was obliviously coming back into port late evening for docking, and the wind has come up like it does every afternoon there. So I think he did a very good job trying to dock a 60m vessel in 50nm gust winds without crashing.

As Tom Said below they drop the anchor to keep the bow of the ship in control so they can use the aza pods to there full potential to keep the ship safe from hitting the others in the harbor.. he was trying to tie off to the pier on the stern to open up and unload but the seas were too rough as seen when the line broke loose/snapped. Good man doing his job, his company should use this as a training video.as for hard videos you should see when they back in super tankers or newer container ships.

I’m sure the cameraman could move the camera faster if he tried.

theofilos nel lines i was an engineer at that ship the master of the ship is a legend and put the fact that the engines and thrusters are too weak for that kind of maneuvers btw if you happen to be in greece do not travel with that ship....

Reminds me of Alicante, Italy in 1996. Me, a 20 y/o helmsman aboard 821 ft USS Kearsarge, backing out of the tiny harbour, then turning 90 degrees with the pier 25 ft at our stern and closing, engines screaming. And 5 ft of water under the keel! When we were in the Adriatic, my armpits were soaked.

I'll give it credit for having the balls to pull that kind of maneuver with only the single anchor thats singing from the strain keeping them from a disaster. If you're going to moor anything stern in to the dock you have to have something out front, an anchor or as in a number of small ports I've seen mooring balls. That holds the bow and normally takes enough load that the stern lines can hold the ship onto that small quay. If nothing holds the bow, even the slightest breeze would be too much for any lines on the stern to hold at that angle.

the impressive part of this video, for me, was how they managed to keep their port anchor stay in that one place without moving. what the hell occurs naturally that can hold a boat that big without breaking or shifting? the thing i'm most curious about is what is under the water in that bay.. i mean, the sailors had to have tons of confidence, cuz if that anchor came loose, they'd have run aground and probably taken another vessel with them. those guys have some real balls on them!

thanks for the info sir.

Must have taken a boatload of stamina to keep that up for as many hours as it did

Love the music.

Frank Cable would Med Moor a few times a year at NavWeps Goose Creek SC. I was a BM3 stationed on the fantail when we did.

Similar to the USS Holland (a sub tender) mooring astern at the end of the pier in Rota Spain years ago. Alike this ship, about the same size, with no side thrusters. Would have been handy!

ever heard of rotatable drives and thrusters I do gotta give him credit he's got balls

Hard manoeuvre in strong wind, BTW it's funny the way you sped the playback up, it looks like a toy ship at times :-)

I'd like to see him try that without the anchor holding the front end in place.

I once went on a cruse and this happened to us and they had to get tugs there just to get us back out to open waters until the winds went down. when I got off the ship I bought a plain ticket an fly home.

Whip that sucker around using the wind as leverage and park it. That's how it's DONE!

I got Forrest Whitaker eye just reading the description of this video.

and its not the first time this ship has done this before i used to patrol around limnos with my gun ship(Greek navy) sort of like the warship u see in the video.ive seen these passenger ships do these maneuvers alot of times.

And the Captain only had a couple, three/four Johnny Walker Blacks before he came back onto the Bridge.....

Damn that was a hard maneuver.

You can`t fool me. This was speeded up !

Hey there is no need for your Swearing , I have praise for the Captain What ever , So there !

he roll it at the anchor..truly master

This guy's got skills

If that ship captain worked for me I would have fired him! He should have gone back OUT away from the wharf after he turned around then dropped anchor and WAITED for the wind to die down as it most always does after sunset.

Hats off to the Captain and his Crew.

Some would argue the responsible and safe thing to do would be to wait for better weather before docking - unless its a life or death situation. And I would agree.

How much nervous did it cost? Bravo for shure!!!

Hahaha I didn't mean to offend anyone, the truth is there are many good captains from many different countries. I lived the majority of my life in Canada and I have seen some pretty impressive Captains there too. However Greece is known for having the largest merchant marine in the world as well as the most historic merchant marine in the world. Also most Captains working worldwide happen to be Greek including those in the cruise ship industry. They're known for having good captains it's a fact!

least he didn't drive into the reef like the Italian cruise liners , theofelooooooo

Legend has it the boat is still trying to reach the dock.

Using the anchor to hold him in place while he turns clever.. probably something practiced a lot by big ship operators.

Why did you put a capital letter in "maneuver", but a lower case letter in "I"?

As a USMMA '90 grad w/USCG Chief Mate Unlimited Tonnage License, 11 years experience on tankers... Masters an idiot. Unseaman-like putz. (Assuming he had bunkers to go back out...) Risking cargo, crew and ship like that? Bet shipping company and consignees were super proud of the guy. Funny thing about the wind... It decrease if you wait a bit...

Looks like two from the paint. I helped put together one ship that had four, two up front and two aft. That was fun times aligning those couplings. In out boredom, I'd make the ship slam the dock and back out, then back in all by hand. Sry boss, checking the run out.

typical greek maneuever !We have very good captains!From the best in the world

nothing spectacular.You should see some skippers on small coasters.no bow thrusters,under powered single screw.proper ship handling.Total respect

Thought this was going to end up like the Exxon Valdeez for a minute.

Felt like A paper boat in water

That is one badassed Docking maneouver...i bet a pinoy is at the helm.

this is greece babyyyy !!! love hellas !

It is a rocket fast airplane from heaven!

that's in Greece, Aegean Sea, and the captain of the ship is great, in wind conditions like that you don't even approach the harbor!!!

I don't see what's so great about it. He broke at least one line, almost dinged up his boat and the frigate, and never got it docked, finally giving up and heading back out to get a stiff drink, and try it again in the morning.....

funniest title ever saw in my life XD

Greek captains are the best in these circumstances.

Just didn't get this video at all but after muting the sound I watched until i couldn't any longer!!!

this is nothing specia.The video is from Greece and something like that is an everyday thing! at least here xD

Jesus that music is woefully, it would put you of living never mind watching this ffs

There was just to damn much wind, the hull is a damn big sail, notice also he was dragging his anchor to help pivot the stearn around

Good job

This is good seamanship. Nothing exceptional. Whoever posted this video is not a seafarer.

LOTS of experience AND cojones!

welcome to finland, here they go to longnäs every night in the dark and they have minimal viability, and the sea is at least this bad about every night and in the winter its a lot worst :D so this is pretty easy in fact

Nice job,,, wonder did he moor that night or wait,,,,

That is the manuver anchor nose swing tail tie up ... if equip with the right propulsion system he could have done the same thing without the anchor. from the looks of the wind, that was a damned good job anchor or no anchor. peace2u

Nice Cartoon Show...

I think if I were the Captain, I'd give up at a certain point and just steam out to open water, anchor, and wait.

I Liked the video and for all of you who complained about the music. haven't you learnt about the MUTE button on your volume control. Just because the music is there does not mean you must listen to it!

Greek Captains !!! The best

forget it!! This ship has no bow thruster and they never use pilot. Maybe now you can appreciate more his work!

Did you stabilize this video?

The way a good Captain/Master should think: What is the best course of action considering the safety of the passengers, the crew, the line handlers on the dock, the ship and equipment aboard, and the other vessels in the harbor - in that order! The real world (cell phone conversation between the Captain and his boss: NEL Lines controller: Where the hell are you? Captain Bob: We have 30 knot winds on the starboard bow, 3 foot chop inside the jetty, we've already "popped" two, three inch mooring lines and the guys on the dock are getting hammered. I dropped the hook to wait for the wind to die down a little. NEL Lines controller: You've got to get those passengers and cars off and reload! You're supposed to be back in Naples in 12 hours. ...what ever it takes Captain ... !!! Capt Bob (after call ends) : #@(#ing*$##T!...(on ship's intercom) ... all line handlers to your stations ... Money talks ... been there ... done that ... bought the T shirt!