Abeking & Rasmussen SWATH Technology

At the A&R shipyard in Germany, the successful principle of SWATH boats was further developed in 2013: The SWASH principle allows sea-going, smaller and more economical boats.

SWATH and SWASH are interesting technologies that allow a vessel to sail much more calmly in high waves. A stable and calm position of the ship is especially important for pilot boarding.

Today a look at a special vessel that is commonly seen on the Astoria waterfront: the pilot boat that takes pilots to and from passing ships.

HADRIAN (IMO: 9222259) is a Pilot Ship that was built in 2000 (21 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of United Kingdom.
Her length overall (LOA) is 16.13 meters and her width is 5.3 meters.

The San Juan pilot boat coming next to our ship.

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.

View from Liverpool cruise terminal, of a port of Liverpool pilot boat leaving jetty, alongside the Viking Jupiter of Bergen Norway, with boats on the Mersey. 🇳🇴 🇬🇧

Great film about sailing on Kiel Canal (NOK) in Germany.

Mission ended well and disembarked on 13/12/2021. She didn't. Weekes later she caught major fire and sank South of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean. Fortunately, the crew abandoned the ship and no casualties were reported.