PILOT

Comment and photos by Reshma Nilofer Naha
India's first female Marine Pilot (Kalkata Port Trust)

Una nave cisterna, con l aiuto dei rimorchiatori, ormeggia in banchina.
A tanker, with the help of tugs, moors on the quay.

SUMMARY A New York harbor pilot boat passes close enough for four members of the crew to be seen [Frame: 0471]. Following the sailing vessel is a steamship [0780]. From a contemporary Edison Company catalog: PILOT BOATS IN NEW YORK HARBOR. Unboys [code for telegraphic orders]. A close view of an eighty footer, schooner rigged, trim as a private yacht, skimming over the waters of the harbor near Robin's Reef, [where a] picturesque little lighthouse is seen in the near background. A steamer...

Coronavirus may be hampering global trade but it hasn't broken the supply chain at the Port of Oakland. The latest evidence: the largest ship ever to call in Oakland arrives this week. The container vessel MSC Anna is scheduled to berth at the Port April 16.

The ship will tie up at Oakland International Container Terminal on the Oakland Estuary. The Port said that the 1,312-foot-long vessel is on special assignment from Geneva-based shipping line MSC. It’s collecting a backlog of empty containers in Southern California before arriving in Oakland. It’s scheduled to spend 24 hours here discharging import containers and loading exports.

Pilotage

A bulk carrier was departing port with a pilot on the bridge to assist with the undocking and manoeuvre downriver. The operation was also assisted by two conventionally propelled tugs, one forward and one aft.

Unless you were paying attention on your last cruise, you might have missed the pilot boat bringing the pilot out to your cruise ship.

Another great education video by Knud Benedict (Germany): Practical experiments for getting useful data for planning.

Malta Maritime Pilots