Text by Baird Maritime, photo by Hin Lee Shipyard
China’s Hin Lee (Zhuhai) Shipyard has delivered a new pilot boat to the Hong Kong Pilots Association (HKPA).
The Camarc-designed Pilot 63 measures 17.3 by five metres and can reach speeds of up to 25 knots. The boat also possesses self-righting ability.
The newbuild will operate alongside sister vessel Pilot 62 in serving HKPA’s various clients.
In 2006 I was invited to join Port of London Pilot Capt. Tom Miller on one of his last few voyages before his retirement. A pilot cutter ferried us from the Gravesend Port office to the Port of London Terminal where the Hebridean Spirit waited for us to board. Once aboard, the ship's captain manoeuvred the vessel off its moorings and into the channel. After handing the vessel over to Capt. Miller, the Captain joined the ship's company for dinner, and the first offer and a helmsman remained...
Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.
