Articles

A cargo ship lost power while approaching the dock at the Port of Tampa Thursday. Officials said quick thinking by harbor pilots and tug boats got it under control.

London Pilots (PLA) have issued an excellent quick reference guide for Pilot Transfer arrangements, which can be used for pilots as well as ship’s crews. Please take not of this document and if you can, try to incorporate it into your procedures.

IMPA is conducting a study to gain significant insights into the current and potential use of "remote piloting" on conventional ships as well as those that may be remotely operated or navigated by autonomous software in the future.

The transfer of pilots to and from seagoing vessels should not rely solely on mutual trust and good intentions.

Neuer Studiengang ab dem Wintersemester 2024/2025!
New degree programme from winter semester 2024/2025!

APA says: “Pilots share NOAA’s goal of protecting the North Atlantic right whale, but this is the wrong approach.”

The use of historical navigation data by ports is essential for safety investigations globally. In the digital age, a wealth of pilotage data is available, aiding operations and training but potentially causing stress if misused.

The pilots say that Port Tampa Bay leadership is leaning on them to change policies in ways they say would be less safe.

A handy and simple tool to determine in a minimum time what is really needed as tug assistance, is the Bollard Pull Calculator which calculates in an approximate way the total required tug power for ships in various conditions of wind and current. This tool can be loaded as an app on the smart phone.

This week, the International Maritime Organization Sub-Committee responsible for developing amendments to SOLAS regulation V/23 and associated instruments (NCSR 11) finalized a new performance standard for pilot transfer arrangements, which is expected to be made mandatory by SOLAS and apply to new and existing SOLAS and non-SOLAS ships from 1 January 2028.