Piloting a 190 meter Bulker with 2 tugs

A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting.

The term pilot is defined as, “a person who is qualified and usually licensed to conduct a ship into and out of a port or in specified waters.” The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 states that, “a pilot is any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof.”

Maritime pilots trace the roots of their profession back to the ancient Greeks and Romans when incoming ship captains employed experienced local fisherman to guide their merchant vessels safely into port. It’s a legacy of skill, strength, and sharp wits, and our Houston Pilots (“Pilots”) have been meeting vessels at Galveston’s bar to carry on these proud traditions for just shy of 100 years.

Study from 2020: Precise assessment of complex maritime navigation requires reliable and valid assessment frameworks. The purpose of this research was to examine the reliability and validity of the proposed CAPA-tool.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission of New Zealand (TAIC) has released its report on the incident involving the grounding of a foreign-flagged cargo vessel at Bluff Harbour on November 28, 2018.

Tuesday, October 1st is the start date of the latest International Maritime Pilot Association's annual Safety Campaign.

Previous campaigns by the association have consistently shown results of pilot ladder deficiencies around the 20% mark.

The massive container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal, halting traffic in one of the world's busiest waterways, is still stuck. The ship, called the Ever Given, became horizontally wedged in the waterway following heavy winds. Nearly 19,000 ships passed through the canal during 2020, for an average of 51.5 per day, according to the Suez Canal Authority.

The European Union proposed making so-called pilot services exempt from sanctions targeting the transfer of Russian oil that are set to kick in this year to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

22m wavepiercing pilot boat