BW guide to Pilot Ladder compliance

KITTIWAKE ( MMSI 232008570) is a Pilot and currently sailing under the flag of United Kingdom (UK) Here she is speeding down the River this morning.

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

Ever wonder how Pilots board a massive container ship at sea? Well, like this!
This is done year round in every major Port around the world, in all types of weather.

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.

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) and other individual MOB devices have been available for some years now and have evolved to incorporate a variety of different alerting methods and combinations. However, usage of these additional enhancements within UK Pilotage is still in its infancy.

Awesome scenery

Currently, several means of transport are undergoing an accelerated development towards automation and automated movements. This development will also impact future ship handling with tugs. A glimpse into the future of tug boat operation.

The maiden voyage of HMM Algeciras #7-Rotterdam-arrival: “Steady as she goes” As Rotterdam tugboats skillfully maneuver mega vessel 'HMM Algeciras' safely towards the RWG Terminal mooring – welcoming the 1st of 12 Megamax-24 class HMM vessels to the Netherlands!