Marine Pilot

"No day is the same, and this is what makes the job so interesting.
ANGUS MACAULAY
Pilot, Montrose Port Authority

It’s my first voyage taking over solo watch as a navigating officer – from bridge commands to monitoring traffic and weather, every second counts. Once we arrive in Ningbo, it’s straight into cargo operations, intense mooring work, and pilotage.

Join me as I take a ride along with the St. Andrew Bay Pilots Association. We are going offshore in Panama City to bring back 2 Pilots and two coastguardsmen from a ship leaving port. It's awesome to watch the skill and teamwork it takes to safely transport Pilots and other personnel on and off these large ships. Special Thanks St. Andrew Bay Pilots Association Captain Zach Condon, Chairman Captain Phillip Brady III US Coast Guard ATON Team Chief Tom Ball Petty Officer Brendon Blackwell...

Dublin Port Company has taken delivery of a new Pilot Boat, named DPC Tolka. The state-of-the art vessel arrived in Dublin Port having set sail from Great Yarmouth via Lowestoft, Dover, Gosport, Plymouth, Falmouth and Milford Haven.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) examines and investigates all types of marine accidents to or on board UK vessels worldwide, and other vessels in UK territorial waters. Here is the annual report of 2020.

MAIB says: "This analysis indicates that 99.6% of pilot transfers while underway were completed safely and without incident or accident during 2022."

Port of Dunkerque: A typical working day in the Port of Dunkerque East.
Views of the Port of Dunkerque East and its daily maritime traffic.


Towing: Tugs from Boluda Dunkerque

I have had the privilege of being at quite a number of meetings, conferences and seminars, sometimes representing The Netherlands, but mostly representing the Netherlands pilots. I have had many discussions about the role of pilots and pilot organisations, which lead me to write an article “What is the added value of pilotage?”, published in the February 2020 issue of Seaways.

A 1,000 Navy Vessels around... Quite often those vessels have the tendency of presenting themselves with a pilot transfer arrangement which is non-compliant.

Ich bin zu Besuch beim Lotsbetriebsverein in Bremerhaven und unterhalte mich mit dem Ältermann Jan-Helge Jannsen über das Lotswesen in Deutschland. Wir fahren außerdem mit dem Lotsenboot raus und begleiten Lotsen und die Crew auf den Versetzern bei einem Einsatz.