Marine Pilots - Reef / QLD Ports / Victorian Ports / WA Ports

Boat to boat Pilot transfer, to the Pilot Vessel Golden Gate, under the Golden Gate Bridge.

It remains a sad fact that accidents and near misses continue to occur during pilot transfers with frightening regularity. Most of these fortunately do not result in injury, and a surprisingly high number of them are not even recognised for what they are.

Surveys into pilot ladder safety consistently reveal that unacceptably high numbers of pilot transfer arrangements are not compliant with the regulations.

Marine pilot

For the safety of maritime pilots

Qualified pilots are usually employed by the local port or maritime administration, and provide their services to ships for a fee, calculated in relation to the ship’s tonnage, draught or other criteria.

Roberta Cotta and Teresa Matarese are the only two women in the Italian Federation of Harbour Pilots (Fedepiloti) team of 212 professionals.

Venice pilot boat escorting "Rhapsody of the Seas" from Venice cruise terminal #venice#cruiseship#shipsboats

One of the biggest ships in the world, 23,000+ TEU container ship MSC MIA, reportedly contacted gantry crane while leaving container terminal at Valencia.

This is a short documentary done in the 1980s of San Diego Harbor Pilots. It shows the old pilot boat built in 1914. The boat was donated to the Maritime Museum and provides daily bay rides for the public. The film shows arrival of the cruise ship SS Azure Seas.

In my most recent article, I talked about how ports are currently faced with disruptive circumstances that severely impact the day-to-day port operations. The COVID-19 situation and blockage of the Suez Canal lead to increased operational uncertainty and a need for ports to endure the situation rather than planning the future.