Pilot - Great Yarmouth

I have had the privilege of being at quite a number of meetings, conferences and seminars, sometimes representing The Netherlands, but mostly representing the Netherlands pilots. I have had many discussions about the role of pilots and pilot organisations, which lead me to write an article “What is the added value of pilotage?”, published in the February 2020 issue of Seaways.

SWATH@A&R – AN IDEA ON THE RISE
Visit company profile: Abeking & Rasmussen
For thousands of years ships have been firmly anchored in human identity. They have benefited and advanced the human kind in countless ways. And yet all along this amazing journey seafarers have been plagued by seasickness, an incessant and relentless nausea caused by the ship’s rolling and rocking. Many experts have tried to find the remedy for the persistent ailment, but always with moderate success.
That is,...

The Port of Milford Haven – the biggest port in Wales and largest energy port in the UK – will trial Zelim’s Swift rescue conveyor on its operational pilot vessels. The port may also utilise this technology on its new pilot vessel, which is currently in the final stages of contract award.

From that moment on I have been keeping a tally of the non compliant boarding arrangements I see in front of me on a daily base, and off course I participate in the annual safety campaign, conducted by IMPA each october.

When publishing articles or pictures about pilots and their pilot ladders, very often we see the use of backpacks. The use of backpacks is controversial, since its weight, or buoyancy, can influence the functioning of the lifejacket used.

The Los Angeles Pilot Service ordered two customized 56′ Camarc Design pilot boats (P/B) built by Vigor Industrial at their Vancouver, WA facility, located on the northern side of the Columbia River. The LA Pilot Service took delivery of the P/B Angels Pilot and Angels Navigator at Vigor’s shipyard on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon in early October.

Shortly after 5 a.m. local time the vessel “Else” had a collision in the Kiel-Holtenau lock to the Kiel Canal.
The "Else" subject to pilotage passed the pilot's boarding position without taking a sea pilot on board and collided from the outside into the closed gate of the new north lock. The bow bored into the metal construction and the ship was stuck for about six hours.
For more information about this accident see related content below (articles).

The transfer from traditional to remote pilotage requires particular consideration of safety issues, and Pilotage Act obligates the pilotage company to ensure that the remote pilotage under development is at least as safe as traditional pilotage, affirms Sanna Sonninen, Pilotage Director.

Some ship handlers today use electronic instruments from start to finish and these ships usually have powerful engines and thrusters and an almost unlimited number of personnel on the bridge.

Despite clear regulations and regular maintenance requirements, safety often falls by the wayside, as the current example of a bulk carrier vividly demonstrates.