Volvo Penta – Mighty Jobs – Piloting the Arctic seas of Norway

Learn why the Virginia Pilot Association chooses to rely on Volvo Penta power.

The new 56-ft. Virginia Pilots launch is powered by a pair of Volvo Penta D13 700 hp EPA Tier 3 engines matched with IPS-3 steerable pod drives with forward-facing counter-rotating props. The propulsion system includes Volvo Penta’s EVC electronic steering and control system with a three-axis joystick. Top speed is 33+ knots.

The busy Strait of Messina which separates the island of Sicily from the Italian mainland is now home to a new pilot boat, manufactured by Bellcraft and powered by Volvo Penta’s Inboard Performance System (IPS).

Qualified pilots are usually employed by the local port or maritime administration, and provide their services to ships for a fee, calculated in relation to the ship’s tonnage, draught or other criteria.

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.

A ride along with a harbor pilot as he guided a cargo ship from Galveston Bay through the Houston Ship Channel into a port on Buffalo Bayou.

It has been exactly one year ago that a pilot from Sandy Hook (New York), Dennis Sherwood, died in the line of duty while attempting to board the container vessel Maersk Kensington.
What has happened since then? Has safety been improved for the pilots?

Armstrong Marine USA recently delivered Piloto VIII to support marine pilotage operations in and around the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico.

A pilot boat entering the port of Miami.