It’s Baltimore. What are the odds that the pilot was some union/DEI hire who usually slept through the transit? Once again, I know nothing about ships or bridges.
Very low odds. Pilot associations are known for nepotism and chronyism. They are nigh impossible for an outsider to crack and generally beyond outside influence.
There were TWO pilots on board, the fact (again) it went dark before ramming the bridge, certainly points to loss of way and steerage with no way of stopping a ship that large.
Don't tugs escort ships past obstacles?
Yes and no. Typically they only nurse them through docking and departing. In some cases, given the whole of the circumstances, they will stay hooked up to them around other obstacles. In busier ports, it'd take a massive fleet of tugs to get all of the merchant vessels past all of the hazards.
