18 meter pilot boat built by Hart Marine, with ZF Marine Transmission

The Port of Townsville, northern Australia’s largest multi-cargo port, is expanding its fleet of pilot boats to four.

The Port has awarded Hart Marine a $3 million contract to build a 17.3m ORC vessel that is due for delivery later in 2020. The new high-tech vessel will be slightly longer but have the same design features as the PV Osprey which was delivered by Hart Marine in late 2017.

Jeanerette, LA – November 14th, 2019: Shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered two new pilot boats to New Orleans-based operator Belle Chasse Marine Transportation, LLC (BCMT).

Delta Launch Services has ordered a new pilot boat from Gladding Hearn Shipbuilding (Duclos Corporation).

This is the sixth St. John’s Class launch built by the Somerset, Mass. shipyard. Delivery of the new 52-footer is scheduled for July 2020.

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.

GNSS interference has become a growing challenge in the Baltic Sea, affecting maritime navigation, aviation, and critical infrastructure. While numerous datasets and services, such as gpsjam.org, spoofing.skai-data-services.com, and flightradar24, report high-altitude GNSS interference based on ADS-B data, there is a significant lack of studies focusing on ground-level interference.

The Brightlingsea Harbour Commission of Essex, UK, recently took delivery of a new pilot boat built by Seaward Boat Development Company based on the Isle of Wight.

As a part of the ISTLAB project the impact of external factors on pilots’ activities in a remote pilotage situation has been examined in Rauma.

In December 2020, Australian Pilot Captain Ritesh Bhamaria was expertly piloting oil tanker MT Godam through the Torres Strait in adverse weather conditions when he and the vessel crew sighted a distant hand waving for help in the rough sea.

NTSB issued an investigation report on the contact of tow William C with a Rock Island railroad bridge protection cell, on Des Plaines River, in January 2020. The investigation established that high speed prevented the pilot to correct the tow’s position after completing the transit through the previous bridge.