Marine Port Pilot, Port Operations

Florida Harbor Pilots - Who We Are

Researchers have observed an unexpectedly high frequency of towering waves in the German North Sea, particularly near the island of Norderney. These extreme waves pose a significant risk to maritime infrastructure, including ships, offshore wind farms, and research platforms.

Here’s a cool little video of the rough weather sea trails of ‘Port Láirge’ The Port of Waterford’s new Interceptor 48 pilot boat ready to be delivered next week. We had two days of rough weather, a Force 8 with 3.5m seas putting up some surf breakers over the Daunt and a second day with winds reaching Force 10 offshore, with 55kts of wind and 5m swells, allowing us to properly test her capabilities ensuring she's fully fit for purpose for the pilots and crew. Doing so we captured some...

After almost four hours of work to safely guide and assist the Ship's Captain in navigating the vessel out from Liverpool's Royal Seaforth Container/Roro Terminal (RSCT) in Liverpool UK, the Harbor Pilot disembarks at Bar Pilot Station, a rendezvous point or certain place where a ship should take the Sea/River/Harbor Pilot on and off. In this video, the Pilot disembarked at the Starboard side (right side), lee side of the vessel which is the normal practice. The term "lee side" means away...

This article was first published back in September 2021: Pilotage operations require close interaction between human and machines. This complex sociotechnical system is necessary to safely and efficiently maneuver a vessel in constrained waters.

Article and pictures by Captain W J M Hargreaves, Retired Southampton Pilot

As the world struggles with the Covid-19 virus, the maritime world is being hit hard, not only economically, but also socially and operationally. Iin shipping there are no borders.

Recorded January 25, 2022. Website: https://secoora.org/webinar-series/ ••Abstract•• Major ocean currents can generate hazardous cross-currents near some ports. At the south Florida ports of Miami, Everglades, and Palm Beach, high cross-currents occur irregularly. Cross-currents can persist for hours to days as meanders in the Florida Current / Gulf Stream shift its position westward onto the port access channels. The technical webinar will overview the initial results of a prototype...

This movie shows how to create the Characteristic Diagram for Wind effect on ships and limits of steerability under strong wind. It uses the previous demos made with the SAMMON Planning Software on turning tendency of ships on straight track and in turning motion.