Trainee Marine Pilot - Hull, GB

Editors note: A film of a pilot boat has just been published on YouTube with the title "How Dangerous being in a Pilot Boat..." on YouTube. I'm not sure if this really shows a dangerous maneuver, maybe the experts can comment on it here.
But in principle it is problematic to approach the ship in such a small Pilot Boat in the wake from astern and cross the waves there. I remember an accident from Finland in December 2017 where the boat capsized and people died. Is this situation shown here...

A court sentenced a captain to a total of 30 months imprisonment: It had been proven beyond doubt that the side ropes had been manipulated to make a ship inspection more difficult or to prevent it.

These images show a Navigation drill (SIMULATION) of approach and mooring to one of the Harbours of the Paraná River - "TIMBUES" Harbour (Management and Resources of the Navigation Bridge for Pilots) - (BRM - P) in charge of the Paraná Harbours Pilot, Captain Mr. Diego SCHOTTENHEIM. Exercise carried out in the Navigation Bridge Simulator of the Maritime and Riverine Research and Training Canter (MRRTC), Autonomous City of Buenos Aires #Argentine on March 12, 2019, since 14:50 till 15:55...

Stanchions therefore are an often-overlooked part of a pilot transfer arrangement and therefore I
want to give them more attention in this article. They proved to be the cause of a whole series of accidents, some of which were even fatal.

The Car Carrier Golden Ray was lost on Sunday September 8, 2019 when transiting the Saint Simons Sound at the Port of Brunswick, Georgia. The rescue, investigation and salvage that followed were all incredibly complex.

Baltic Workboats have won under the category of "Best Small Pilot Boat" the Best builder of a Small Pilot Boat Award for 2019 for their model PILOT 15 WP.

In just two decades from now, half of all domestic ships plying Japan’s coastal waters may be piloting themselves. That’s the ambitious goal of the Nippon Foundation, a public-interest organization backing the country’s development of ocean-traversing autonomous ships. It aims to see crewless ships make up 50% of Japan’s local fleet by 2040.

It has been 1 month since the 1st case of coronavirus in the country. All airports were shut down, and mandatory confinement was issued 10 days ago. Nevertheless, Maritime shipping must continue (except for tourist related). The means that us pilots must continue with our duties despite the risks involved with all the ships' crews arriving from different countries. So we need to take all safety measures possible.
This particular maneuver was unberthing a chemical tanker, in loaded...

Text and photos by Alex Lang, retired pilot, pilot for 28 years in New Zealand and Australia.