Pilot boat - Port of Patras

Jeanerette, LA – November 14th, 2019: Shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered two new pilot boats to New Orleans-based operator Belle Chasse Marine Transportation, LLC (BCMT).

Delta Launch Services has ordered a new pilot boat from Gladding Hearn Shipbuilding (Duclos Corporation).

This is the sixth St. John’s Class launch built by the Somerset, Mass. shipyard. Delivery of the new 52-footer is scheduled for July 2020.

Dublin Port Company has taken delivery of a new Pilot Boat, named DPC Tolka. The state-of-the art vessel arrived in Dublin Port having set sail from Great Yarmouth via Lowestoft, Dover, Gosport, Plymouth, Falmouth and Milford Haven.

Earlier this year ABP announced an investment of around £9 million to build nine new pilot boats. These vessels were ordered from Goodchild Marine Services Limited and are being built in Norfolk along with much of the supply chain coming from East Anglian suppliers.

Pilot boats are an essential part of our maritime world where they provide safe passage for ships to and from the harbor. The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) has 23 pilot stations in Sweden.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has taken an order from the St. Johns Bar Pilots for a high-speed launch, based on the successful 40’ Resilient Class pilot boat introduced in 2005. Delivery to the Florida-based pilots is scheduled for mid-2024.

Pilot transferring is unsafe and dangerous by Harbor Tug Boat from or to the ship. I analyzed and observed at many ports, Pilots using Harbor Tug Boat for transferring. Where Tug boats decks are not specially designed for the Pilot transferring. This is difficult for the Pilot during Embarkation and specially Disembarkation. Video courtesy Nasir Khan. Find Capt. Pilot Nasir Khan on Marine-Pilots.com: https://www.marine-pilots.com/members/112390