Marine Officer (Pilot) / Barry, GB

Although it cannot be said that ship piloting is the world’s oldest profession, most maritime experts do agree that pilotage does date back to antiquity.

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

This what a normal work day looks like for a port pilot.
A 24 hour shift shown in 11 minutes.
Recorded in Santa Marta, Colombia.

Am 19.02.2018 hat der 149 Meter lange Containerfrachter AKACIA das Tor der Südschleuse in Kiel Holtenau gerammt und stark beschädigt. Nach der Bergung des defekten Tores wurde am 06. April das Reservetor eingebaut und der Schiffsverkehr konnte umgehend wieder über die Südschleuse aufgenommen werden. Im Auftrag des WSA Kiel-Holtenau
Gemafreie Musik von www.frametraxx.de

The Baltic Workboats US wave-piercing, high-performance, self-righting aluminum pilot boat cuts through rough seas with ease, featuring superior sea keeping abilities, low vibration, low noise levels and high fuel efficiency all thanks to its advanced, modern design.

Connaissez vous le métier de pilote maritime ? Rencontre avec Gabriel Charpentier à Sète dans l'Hérault. Lorsque les navires de plus de 55 mètres arrivent dans un port, les pilotes maritimes prennent le relais du commandant. Ils ont la responsabilité de faire entrer ces gros bateaux par tous les temps. Lors d'une escale, ils sont les premiers à monter à bord en pleine mer sur une échelle de corde de neuf mètres.
Reportage de Cybèle Plichart

Jacobsen Pilot Service, the Port's pilot service since 1924, has acquired a new state-of-the-art pilot boat, The Orion. Learn all about The Orion in this video.

The pilot boat Lesath brings the harbor pilot to the Allegro. It was windy and the sea was rough, the conditions where not extremely, but the boarding is not whitout risk.
This video is created 2 days after storm Ciara in the Port of Rotterdam. This was also the first day that the containerterminals where open after the storm.
Shipspotting Rotterdam,
Enjoy

This video shows an introduction on the Pull-out Test-Manoeuvre and describes the procedure how to steer through this simple manoeuvre: Turning circle and then put the rudder amidships. The final rate of turn allows to identify stable and unstable conditions.