Pilot change

KITTIWAKE ( MMSI 232008570) is a Pilot and currently sailing under the flag of United Kingdom (UK) Here she is speeding down the River this morning.

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

On duty 24/7, 365 days a year. The pilot service is always on hand when a ship is heading for or leaving the Port of Hamburg. Fleet Hamburg reliably brings the pilots on board the ships and that is a fast-paced task. New challenges await every day. Find out more in this episode of "PORT IS WHAT WE DO".
https://www.hamburg-port-authority.de/en/
https://www.instagram.com/hamburgerhafen/

Pilot going onboard, using pilot ladder port side, 1,5 meters above the water.

The hazards of Pilot boarding
Throughout 2016, the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) held a safety campaign focused upon the standard of pilot ladders and associated equipment. CHIRP supported this campaign and received many reports on the subject.
This first report describes issues concerning pilot access near
the non-parallel ends of a ship, and use of a retractable platform.

There are many things in both our everyday and professional lives which we take for granted and never question the origins of, an example of this might be the IMPA recommended ‘pilot mark or pilot line’, which is sometimes seen on the side of vessels indicating where a vessels freeboard exceeds 9 metres.

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...