Corporate - Maritime Pilots Institute - Image film

The Port of Townsville has welcomed the newest addition to its fleet of pilot boats with the arrival of the newly built Mantaray. The $3.3 million, custom-built vessel utilises high-tech equipment and design to maximise safety and efficiency for pilot transfers.

South Australian ports operator Flinders Ports (FP) has entered into an agreement to purchase three new Pilot Vessels over the next three years, working with premier boat builders, Melbourne-based Hart Marine.

This video shows the underlying principles of the SAMMON software tools based on Fast Time Simulation of manoeuvres. It describes very shortly some of the features for manoeuvring planning and conning / monitoring with danymic prediction which are shown in more detail in the other movies on this channel.

"No day is the same, and this is what makes the job so interesting.
ANGUS MACAULAY
Pilot, Montrose Port Authority

The P and O ship Adonia leaving Lisbon on 3-11-14. This was the Pilot's second attempt to leave the ship. A smaller cutter found the seas too rough to take off the Pilot so this larger cutter took over.

The Norwegian Coastal Administration mobilized according to their contingency plan against acute pollution, salvage crews managed to get on board the drifting vessel Eemslift Hendrika and managed to connect it to the two tugboats, and the vessel is now being towed to harbour in Ålesund.

In the last couple of years several paid as well as free tools have made it easier than ever to access vessels on a map. Although vessels shown on a map have their place, authorities and industry are understanding the greater potential and value of the underlying AIS data.

Some ship handlers today use electronic instruments from start to finish and these ships usually have powerful engines and thrusters and an almost unlimited number of personnel on the bridge.