An Egyptian pilot was at the helm....
“An Egyptian pilot was at the helm”
Except in the Panama Canal, the master is still in charge, he can counterman the pilot. I have actually done that.
Certainly the one fact in the ship owners favor is that a pilot employed by the Suez Canal was in control.
Unless there was a mechanical failure that led to the incident....
I read that she is Egypt's first female harbor pilot.
Correct. But - and this gets REALLY complicated - what most people don’t understand is that under international maritime law, when a pilot is aboard and in control of the ship, generally the only party that is (conditionally) indemnified is the master of the ship. The owner and insurer of the vessel retains assumed liability even if the pilot acts grossly negligent and his service was required by statute. I know, it doesn’t seem right, but that’s the way it works.
There are some local exceptions to this where governing bodies - be it national, provincial, state, municipal - may extend insurance options to the vessel operators. IOW, the regulating authority might say: Hey, you can purchase insurance from us that indemnifies you (partially or fully) while the pilot, that we require, is aboard. I think some California ports have this option. I haven’t seen in in South Florida or on the St Lawrence Seaway system; pilots are required on all foreign-flagged ships throughout the Seaway and all the Great Lakes.
I’m not sure what the options are available to vessel operators through the Suez.
An Egyptian pilot working for the Suez Canal “company”. How does that square?
Now they have the ship and the pilot.
As said, the Israeli canal is looking better all the time.