Ship sailing from Liverpool Docks

It remains a sad fact that accidents and near misses continue to occur during pilot transfers with frightening regularity. Most of these fortunately do not result in injury, and a surprisingly high number of them are not even recognised for what they are.

Surveys into pilot ladder safety consistently reveal that unacceptably high numbers of pilot transfer arrangements are not compliant with the regulations.

Two decades ago, candidates were selected for TNPA's accelerated training programme in Rotterdam, which aimed to train a new generation of ship pilots, managers and other maritime professionals.

After spending years at sea, Brett Monthie had to chart the channels in Tampa Bay from memory in order to become a Tampa Bay harbor pilot. And then he spent 30 months in training.

They look like toy boats, but they serve a serious purpose. An outsider at this facility near Grenoble, France, may see grown men riding arounda lake in miniature ships. But these are pilots of the world's largest ships, and they're practicing navigation with meticulously engineered 1:25 scale models of real cruisers, tankers, and containerships. Port Revel Shiphandling Training Centre, in operation since 1967, has had more than 6,000 maritime pilots and merchant ship officers from all over...

Compilation clip highlighting some of the diverse custom boats Dongara Marine has built in recent years.

Captain Andre Smith shares risks facing marine industry

Study from 2020: Precise assessment of complex maritime navigation requires reliable and valid assessment frameworks. The purpose of this research was to examine the reliability and validity of the proposed CAPA-tool.

Here's a nice little video of sea trials during the recent unseasonal storm we had last month, which produced some pretty rough conditions at the entrance to Cork Harbour. We managed to capture some nice footage of the Barracuda and Thunder Child II on the day.

An innovative approach to marine pilotage recruitment and training has increased the breadth of skills and knowledge in our marine team and set us up for the long term.