The publications can be very useful in areas where the surveys are out of date. The pubs can also have out-of-date or incorrect information of course, nothing is 100%.
Best practice is to update the voyage plan after departure with local knowledge gained for next time. That doesn’t always happen however, on a busy coastwise crew is focused on the next port.
Jumping from trade to trade, calling at unfamiliar ports is a known risk factor The risk can be mitigated but not eliminated.
I have a theory that someone wrote the Coast Pilot in the 1980s, retired and was never replaced. Anything outside Chapter 2 rarely gets an update. Ive only found one major safety issue where the project depth for a major US port was wrong, but there are so many silly little inaccuracies its embarrassing. Ive reported some in ASSIST but I have hunch they just think I’m a crazy person at this point. (I am).
When it comes to voyage planning and the voyage plan I’ve the 'zeal of the convert". Once I was lost…
In my experience when sailing into well run major ports the value of a good voyage plan might not be evident as things tend to run smoothly. Good charts, good pilots, tugs etc.
On the other hand arriving at the pilot station as marked on the chart and being told the pilot gets on inside, and then upon entering the river to discover all the buoys are missing… as in Mumbai India.
Sometimes the “Port Guides” are helpful, there’s a section called “Master’s experience” with a narrative of other’s experience.
Way back in the day the notes taken on voyages were quite valuable IIRC. Didn’t the Portuguese skippers who sailed around Africa pretty much treat their pilot books like state secrets?