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.

What a great pleasure to meet these guys at the harbour - they could not have been more helpful and forthright about their work. At first glance, the glide of these orange powerboats up and down Belfast Lough seems an almost effortless task, but close up this is a very skilled trade and constant management of risk 24/7 in high and low seas, jumping from ship to boat to land taking safe control of the great volume of steel vessel coming in and out of this busy port. Though a hub of...

P&O Sahm is the fifth pilot boat to be acquired by P&O Maritime Logistics from the same builder. It will be operated out of Port Rashid in Dubai.

The plug-in diesel hybrid pilot boat's hull is be based on the established ‘ORC’ design, a unique ‘beak’ bow design, which gives it unmatched all weather capability and typically uses 40% less diesel per nautical mile than convention hulls.

out of Portsmouth

How to get information for wind & current limits to be potentially encountered by thrusters – or current? - this will be described in this movie:
- Measure Drift speed, due to beam wind with no propulsion;
- Measure drift speed using full thrusters
- Estimate wind & current limits to be potentially encountered by thrusters – or current...
- Finally there is a simple formula as Rule of Thumb: the transverse drift speed is about 7-8% of wind speed!

Chesapeake Bay pilots guide massive cargo ships safely through the Bay's channels every day, but boarding them on a ladder attached to a moving ship is nothing short of breathtaking. Watch the video from a retired Bay Pilot.