Deputy Harbour Master/Pilot

When I was a deck officer back in the early nineties I worked on a ship that used to load grain at different ports along the Mississippi river. The name of the ship was Golden Hope, a 600 feet long dry bulk carrier with a 95 feet in beam. An average size vessel for those days' standards.

Two decades ago, candidates were selected for TNPA's accelerated training programme in Rotterdam, which aimed to train a new generation of ship pilots, managers and other maritime professionals.

October 24, 1932 ~ October 22, 2020 (age 87). Member of Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association, serving as a river pilot for 34 years.

The crew of a pilot boat rescued a 47-year-old colleague from the North Sea during a severe storm and darkness. The pilot fell overboard early on Sunday morning.

Amid the breathtaking beauty of Tampa Bay, there is a constant current of change for the Tampa Bay harbor pilots. In an ocean that can turn from peaceful to perilous, the pilots are required to have a calm voice and a steady hand.
“You really do have to know how to work under pressure. You’ve got to be quick on your feet. You’ve got to be on point all the time,” pilot Tevin Freeman said.
Read more: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/tampa-bay-pilots-ships-skyway-...

This video briefly describes the special operation of transfer of marine pilots at sea

Jacobsen Pilot Service and Los Angeles Pilot Station published a notice to all ships to inspect pilot ladders before the pilot boards.

Reason is an incident happened at the port of long beach in July 2020. Pilot ladder rope broke while the pilot was on the ladder - luckily the pilot was able to hold on.