Marine Pilot

A routine station watch turns surreal as a massive container ship slowly emerges from dense fog. We board the pilot, complete the transfer, and watch the vessel disappear back into the mist.

Short video from Brixham (UK)

Shipbuilder Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, said it has delivered by road transport a new pilot boat to the Lake Pilots in Port Huron, Mich. The Resilient Class high-speed launch Huron Pride is the pilots’ third boat built by the Somerset-Mass. shipyard since 1979.

This report on incidents involving vessels under pilotage, is an update on that issued in 2006. The IG’s first report examined five years of data between 1999 and 2004.

Dublin Port Company has taken delivery of a new Pilot Boat, named DPC Dodder. The state-of-the art vessel, which represents a significant investment to support the critical service performed by the pilots and pilot boat crews, arrived in Dublin Port on St. Patrick’s Day having set sail from Great Yarmouth last week.

Following the namesake of its predecessor, the new P/V Golden Gate will provide high speed service for the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association.
Servicing the San Francisco Bay, and taking Pilots to the Off-shore station boat.
This new state of the art vessel is equipped with the latest in low emissions technology from MAN engines and Hamilton water jets. This is the first first in a new generation of pilot vessels that will meet CARB tier 4 emission requirements. All while being more fuel...

Returning the Huron Belle to Port Huron for Winter Lay-up

Commissioned by the Aberdeen Harbour Board the Sea Shepherd was built by the renowned Macduff Shipyards in Aberdeenshire. The vessel was designed by Murray Cormack, evolving from their highly successful "NorthBay 17" hull design. The primary design prompt called for an exceptionally rugged craft capable of handling the severe, choppy sea conditions found just outside the Aberdeen breakwater. To meet this requirement, Murray Cormack developed a single-chine displacement hull specifically...

We take a look at some of the dangerous ladder arrangements provided by ships when attempting to take maritime pilots on board. Our message is simple: if you are offered an unsafe or non-compliant ladder, do not board!

Marine pilots must make crucial decisions under extreme conditions. Transferring from a cargo ship to a small pilot boat in hurricane-force gusts can be fatal. For marine pilots, this is the most dangerous moment in their daily working lives: climbing down a rope ladder from a cargo ship in gale-force gusts, and transferring to a small pilot boat. In mid-January, a pilot fell into the sea off Borkum and was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia. Just a few days earlier, a British...