Near miss: VALDIVIA dangerously approached beach in Vlissingen, NL

vlissingen 2017

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

Het Nederlands Loodswezen BV is een organisatie die de aangesloten registerloodsen de middelen verschaft om hun werk uit te oefenen. Zo int het Loodswezen de loodsgelden en zorgt de organisatie voor het transport van en naar zeeschepen. We zien hier een prachtig staaltje inparkeren door de Pioneer in de speciaal daarvoor aangelegde loodsbotenhaven in Vlissingen; naast het Keizersbolwerk. Klaar om de Westerschelde weer op te varen.

Fewer vessels in voyage mean less pilotage and this means less income for many Pilots. Not every Pilot is an employee and many pilots are self-employed and organised in a brotherhood per example. They are earning only money if they are piloting a vessel. No vessel – no money.

Australia’s high-tech FRP specialist boat builder Hart Marine has been building pilot, patrol and rescue boats for a couple of decades. That experience tells as the boats continually improve from an already high base.

The vessel "ELSE" didn't stopped at the pilot station and tried to enter the closed lock without a pilot.
Following the crash on 29.08.2020, the official investigations into the accident are now beginning on site.

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.

Marine Pilot, Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi MNI broke the bias and started her career as a trainee pilot in 2011 and she has never looked back.

Shipbuilder Metal Shark is building a welded aluminum 55’ x 17’ pilot boat for the Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association in Mississippi.

Designed in-house, the new 55 Defiant Pilot being built for Pascagoula Pilots represents the latest evolution in Metal Shark’s pilot boat lineup. The distinctive vessel incorporates the“faceted hull” design initially developed by Metal Shark for the US Navy 40 PB program, and features an enhanced version of Metal Shark’s signature “pillarless glass” in a two-tiered, reverse-raked arrangement.

HURON SPIRIT - PILOT BOAT - Upbound On The St. Clair River Heading Into Lake Huron, To Pickup A Great Lakes Pilot From The JAMNO - POLSTEAM, Passing Under The Blue Water Bridges At Port Huron, Michigan.