Winter Edition of the BPC Pilotage Quarterly published

Maritime pilots trace the roots of their profession back to the ancient Greeks and Romans when incoming ship captains employed experienced local fisherman to guide their merchant vessels safely into port. It’s a legacy of skill, strength, and sharp wits, and our Houston Pilots (“Pilots”) have been meeting vessels at Galveston’s bar to carry on these proud traditions for just shy of 100 years.

Svitzer, A.P. Moller - Maersk’s world leading towage operator, today unveiled plans to introduce the world’s first fuel cell tug boat for harbour towage operations.

We are satisfied with the result, and it shows that continued constructive dialogue with the employer pays off," writes Jens M. Sørensen, chairman of Lederne Søfart, in a press release.

A monster wave of 30m was measured at 03:00 am by the Marine Institute M6 buoy located 200nm West of Ireland.

A portable pilot unit (PPU) is a portable navigation aid system designed specifically for ship pilots, such as the SIRIUS series from TRENZ in Germany (www.trenz-ppu.com).

Garganta do Diabo em São Vicente

Safe Passage in The Singapore Strait is a training package of two videos and an Interactive computer-based learning module produced by the maritime authorities of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The aim is to improve safe navigation in the Strait. It is distributed free of charge worldwide. Copyright is with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (c) 2016.

Lack of standard user interfaces across bridge equipment is a major concern for maritime safety. Pilots are in a unique position, as they are constantly exposed to new and differing bridge working environments, equipment, interface designs and combinations of systems. As pilots face this problem throughout every shift they need to put in considerable effort to adjust their work to the many user interfaces they meet.