We chatted on Monday afternoon, the eve of October 12. "When you work shifts, you don't take holidays into account and don't worry about when they are. We pilots do 73 shifts a year. Tomorrow it's my turn. I'm used to it. I work 24 hours and I get off the next four days. That's why there are five of us. If a seaman or a skipper is on sick leave, it is possible to find a replacement, but replacing a pilot is complicated," Walter del Río Corbeira analyzes. He is 47 years old (he will be 48 on Halloween), father of two children aged 15 and 12, and grew up in Agra do Orzán. "Although there is no tradition in my family, I always wanted to be a sailor. I studied at the Monte das Moas high school, and before that at the Emilia Pardo Bazán school. I remember riding the bus around Gran Canaria and passing by Nautica, where I finally ended up," he recalls. His first trip as a trainee student was to the Gulf of Guinea on a merchant ship carrying tropical timber. "We left from Pasajes. I remember it perfectly," emphasizes the senior pilot. "In A Coruña, the one who has been there the longest has this position. In other ports, such as Barcelona, there are elections. You could say that I represent the company in meetings with the Port Authority, among other things," explains Walter, who orders a decaffeinated coffee with milk.
We chatted on Monday afternoon, the eve of October 12. "When you work shifts, you don't take holidays into account and don't worry about when they are. We pilots do 73 shifts a year. Tomorrow it's my turn. I'm used to it. I work 24 hours and I get off the next four days. That's why there are five of us. If a seaman or a skipper is on sick leave, it is possible to find a replacement, but replacing a pilot is complicated," Walter del Río Corbeira analyzes. He is 47 years old (he will be 48 on Halloween), father of two children aged 15 and 12, and grew up in Agra do Orzán. "Although there is no tradition in my family, I always wanted to be a sailor. I studied at the Monte das Moas high school, and before that at the Emilia Pardo Bazán school. I remember riding the bus around Gran Canaria and passing by Nautica, where I finally ended up," he recalls. His first trip as a trainee student was to the Gulf of Guinea on a merchant ship carrying tropical timber. "We left from Pasajes. I remember it perfectly," emphasizes the senior pilot. "In A Coruña, the one who has been there the longest has this position. In other ports, such as Barcelona, there are elections. You could say that I represent the company in meetings with the Port Authority, among other things," explains Walter, who orders a decaffeinated coffee with milk.
Video The Port Authority of Jamaica | Critical Services - Pilotage
published on 15 April 2021
Pilotage is compulsory in all Jamaican ports and is a necessity for the safe passage and docking of ships entering and leaving the harbours. No ship or vessel can enter our Ports without the #PortAuthorityJa’s pilotage services. #MarinePilots, being the experts in local conditions, are required to assist in the navigation and manoeuvring of vessels in our channels and port areas and are dispatched to all ports in Jamaica on a 24 hour basis. Our #PilotBoatCrew ensures that Marine Pilots are...
Video Robust pilot boats of Netherlands and Belgium
published on 7 August 2020
These are some of the reliable sturdy Pilot boats of Netherlands and Belgium to bring and pick up Marine Pilots to and from commercial merchant vessels either inbound or outbound. The Marine Pilots are licensed PROFESSIONALS who have a thorough knowledge of a certain port and they guide the Master/Captain of commercial ships in and out of the foreign Seaport. Location: Steenbank Pilot Station, Flushing/Vlissingen Pilot Station, Wandelaar Pilot Station. Boats in order of appearance in this...
Video Transit of the Panama Canal with an XDF LNG Carrier on the Newly expanded locks under pilotage
published on 19 December 2020
Join me as we transit through the Panama Canal from the North-East side to the South-West. An interesting vlog on how an XDF LNG carrier transits through the newly expanded Panama Canal.Find out its history and which vessel and Captain transited the Canal on its opening day on the 15th of August 1914.The interaction with the Pilot Captain Arnulfo Cepetno who assist me on transit the Cocoli locks.
Video Nederlands Loodswezen: Instruction for Embarking & Debarking
published on 20 October 2021
Video Sailing Falmouth Pilot Cutter Pellew
published on 10 September 2022
Some impressions from a sail on the Falmouth Pilot Cutter Pellew in October 2021. The Pellew was built by Luke Powell and his team in Truro at https://www.workingsail.co.uk/ between 2017 and 2020.
Trips on Pellew can be booked through Venturesail on their website https://venturesailholidays.com/voyage-finder
Article Pilots and ship´s Captains
by Marine Pilot Luis Vale, Portugal - published on 23 August 2019
Article Pilot Boats, a Designer and Builders Perspective
by Safehaven Marine - published on 6 August 2021
Safehaven Marine build a range of vessels for many different operational roles such as patrol, survey, crew transfer to name a few, but what makes Safehaven unique is that we specialize in pilot boats, with 80% of our production dedicated to just this area, and have supplied over 50 pilot craft all around the world over the last 17 years.
Article Pilot Transfer Arrangements and new Regulations
by Captain Jesus Señeriz Lopez - published on 4 February 2020
As we all know there is a new regulation established since July 2012, this new regulation refers to pilot transfer arrangements. There are other yearly safety campaigns such as IMPA that include SOLAS V.23 and IMO Resolution A 1045 and Resolution A.1108(29). Unfortunately, in this annual overview there were some accidents reported that could have been avoided.