Pilot

Navigation in constrained waters is a cognitively challenging task for seafarers requiring the combined assessment of various elements to perform it with safety. This paper presents a approach to make sense of the dynamic, uncertain,and complex work domain of sea pilotage.

Archival footage shot by an amateur filmmaker while heading Turkey with a ferry in August 1969.
It contains stock footage of Brindisi, a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy: passengers relaxing in the deck of the ship, the pilot boat driving the ferry to the port, ships docking in the port, Brindisi waterfront including the Roman pillar marking the end of the Via Appia route, and more.

In this video I am performing a job on Commencement Bay in Tacoma. I am picking up a Pilot and dropping him off on an inbound ship so he can bring it to the dock safely.

A Sydney harbor pilot boat tries to get a pilot off the MS Amsterdam leaving Sydney on November 28, 2018. Due to the rough weather the pilot boat needed several attempts before the pilot was able to disembark the MS Amsterdam safely.
A Sydney harbor pilot boat tries to get a pilot off the MS Amsterdam leaving Sydney on November 28, 2018. Due to the rough weather the pilot boat needed several attempts before the pilot was able to disembark the MS Amsterdam safely.

Qualified pilots are usually employed by the local port or maritime administration, and provide their services to ships for a fee, calculated in relation to the ship’s tonnage, draught or other criteria.

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.

What do you think about this unusual manoeuvre here?

Arjen is a pilot in the Amsterdam-IJmond region. A registered pilot is an advisor to a ship. In good or bad weather, a pilot's work always goes on. Interaction between people is an important part of being a pilot.

The name tag plate on this ladder displays a few important items that can be cross referenced with the certificate: Type, Model, Length, Production date, as well as the serial number (Prod.No) and the approval standard.

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...