Harbour Master (Penzance)

Falmouth Harbour (FH) is inviting boat builders around the UK to tender for the construction of a clean, green, fuel-efficient pilot vessel to join a fleet operating 24/7, 365 days a year and completing more than 1000 boardings and landings per year within the Falmouth Pilotage Area.

The Associated Federal Pilots in Metairie, La., has ordered a Chesapeake-class pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding. The pilots’ first launch, built by the Massachusetts-based shipyard, is scheduled for delivery in July 2021.

"Analysis of reports indicates that pilot ladders (Pilot Transfer Arrangements, or PTAs) and
intentional deviations from safety procedures remain the main causes of near misses..."

It’s an ancient profession that’s vital to Australia’s economic survival. Marine pilots are responsible for the safe movement of cargo and cruise ships in and out of the country’s harbours. Rachel Hayter took to the seas to learn more. (April 2018)

Look at Life - City of Sailors - Portsmouth - 1965
Portsmouth is no longer the sea-faring city it once was; this film from the Documentary Series "Look At Life" Volume 5 - Cultural Heritage in 1965 looks at its changing face.

As part of a good Master-Pilot exchange (MPX) the passage plan and berthing plan is discussed with the bridge team.

Ingemar Virtual Harbour with some of the 2019 designs

In this eye-opening episode of Sea Views, host Julia Gosling speaks with Captain Andrew Moll (Chief Inspector, UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch), Ari Palmers (Senior Maritime Pilot, Netherlands), and Adam Parnell (Director, CHIRP Maritime) to confront the serious dangers faced by maritime pilots — especially during pilot transfers, where fatality rates remain alarmingly high.

The massive container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal, halting traffic in one of the world's busiest waterways, is still stuck. The ship, called the Ever Given, became horizontally wedged in the waterway following heavy winds. Nearly 19,000 ships passed through the canal during 2020, for an average of 51.5 per day, according to the Suez Canal Authority.