Departing Miami on Norwegian Sky & Pilot Boat

A pilot boat entering the port of Miami.

Here’s a nice video of ‘Miami’ the Interceptor 48 pilot we built for the Biscayne Bay Pilots, Florida on sea trials, with Voyager helping out as the camera boat.

A patrol boat of the Navy of Venezuela sank in international waters after apparently shooting and ramming a German cruise ship. Allegedly the "Resolute" was to be diverted off course.

It has been 1 month since the 1st case of coronavirus in the country. All airports were shut down, and mandatory confinement was issued 10 days ago. Nevertheless, Maritime shipping must continue (except for tourist related). The means that us pilots must continue with our duties despite the risks involved with all the ships' crews arriving from different countries. So we need to take all safety measures possible.
This particular maneuver was unberthing a chemical tanker, in loaded...

Before you, you see my third article on pilot boarding arrangements. After my two previous articles ‘1000 ways to secure a pilot ladder’ and ‘1000 ladders around’, I have received a lot of feedback and also questions to get deeper into the matter of combinations and embarkation platforms.

Pilot boarding submarine HNLMS Bruinvis at North East Spit pilot station.
Pilot Captain Chris Renault.

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.

"Although this should not happen, pilot ladders sometimes suddenly slip one step. Always grip the sideropes firmly and you can handle this!"

The Port of Townsville has welcomed the newest addition to its fleet of pilot boats with the arrival of the newly built MANTARAY. The $3.3 million, custom-built vessel utilises high-tech equipment and design to maximise safety and efficiency for pilot transfers.

The United Kingdom Maritime Pilots' Association (UKMPA) has all been inundated with CV19 communications from all manner of sources in the last few weeks. Here is a condensed collection of information from the UKMPA.