Those Who Serve: Columbia River bar pilots risk their lives to guide cargo ships

During the transit time on the pilot launch between the shore and the vessel, marine pilots will spend at least a portion of that time carrying out (either consciously or subconsciously) a risk assessment of the forthcoming operation.

Clear statements from Fremantle Pilots and Fremantle Ports to ensure the safety of pilot transfers.

ABP Southampton: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that some ships have a pilot transfer arrangement consisting of an accommodation ladder / pilot ladder combination with a trapdoor that does not meet IMO standards in effect since at least 2012.

Crude Oil Tanker British Robin passing St Anns Head on a rather windy day in Pembrokeshire.

New pilot boat CORUÑA PILOTS 8, build by #SafehavenMarine in Cork, Ireland. The Interceptor 48 is typically powered by twin Volvo D13 500/550hp engines and twin Disc or ZF gearboxes providing the vessel with an operational speed of 24-26kts. The vessel is 15m LOA, with a 4.4m beam and 17,200kg Displacement.
Nueva lancha de Prácticos Coruña, la Prácticos Coruña 8, construída por los astilleros Safehaven Marine en Cork, Irlanda. El tipo de lancha es una Interceptor 48 propulsada por dos...

Some ship handlers today use electronic instruments from start to finish and these ships usually have powerful engines and thrusters and an almost unlimited number of personnel on the bridge.

Research on hydrodynamic interaction indicates that if the speed of the ship near a bank is too high, the rudder may be less able to cope with the forces induced and control will be lost. The Nautical Institute highlights this in its latest Mars Report, in which an LPG carrier hit a barge being towed by a tugboat as a result of hydrodynamic forces.

For 174 years, the San Francisco Bar Pilots have been safely navigating the world’s largest ships through some of North America’s most challenging waterways.

A Port Otago deckhand was seriously injured in a workplace fall yesterday afternoon.

Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders said the deckhand on a pilot boat was preparing a ladder to allow a maritime pilot to climb aboard an oil tanker.