Lesath and Procyon. Pilot vessels at the Port of Rotterdam

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

Die Lotsenbrüderschaft Elbe ist ein geschlossener Kreis, der sich nicht gern in die Karten schauen lässt. Wer dort Mitglied werden und bis zu 400 Meter lange Containerpötte in den Hamburger Hafen steuern möchte, muss hohe Anforderungen erfüllen. Bewerber müssen mehrere Jahre lang zur See gefahren sein, um ausreichend Fahrpraxis zu haben. Aber es gibt immer weniger deutsche Seeleute, weil die Reeder billigere Kräfte aus dem Ausland bevorzugen. Dadurch wird es zunehmend schwierig,...

#Pilotonboard #Durbanpilot #DangerousjobatSea #Seaman #Marino #Seafarers

A counterfeit ladder is a pilot ladder that purports to be a genuine approved ladder, from a manufacturer that has been certified by an approved body in the manufacture of pilot ladders to a certified standards.

Delaware River Pilot Boat Cape Henlopen Transfers Pilot to Cargo Ship Al Wathba - Delaware River - Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania - June 6, 2025

Understanding the fundamentals of the pivot point is highly required for understanding the alteration of the courses. Pivot point is an imaginary point on the vessel which turns on a circular path on the perimeter of vessel’s turning circle when the vessel makes a turn. The knowledge about the position of the pivot point in a manoeuvring situation provides the ship handler with the information on the geometry of motion of the ship.

A maritime pilot tells us about why he loves switching ships in midstream.

Managing the Attributes of Pilot Errors in the Process of Redevelopment of Marine Pilot Reliability Index MPRI): A Systematic Literature Review

Berthing a 180 meter Ro-ro type vessel. With the assistance of 2 ASD tugs of 60TBP each. The ship has a 1000KW bow thruster, which makes the manuever a bit easier.

The "MTM Potomac" is a 180 meter tanker, without a thruster and a fixed pitch, right handed propeller (like most).
This particular maneuver consisted of backing her about a ship´s length, then swinging to port with the help of 2 ASD tugs.