Palm Beach Harbor Pilots: The Essential Job Behind Docking Caribbean Cargo Ships 24/7

KITTIWAKE ( MMSI 232008570) is a Pilot and currently sailing under the flag of United Kingdom (UK) Here she is speeding down the River this morning.

In this video we follow along with Capt. Dane of the Palm Beach Harbor Pilots Association on a windy Saturday morning as he brings in a massive bulk carrier cargo ship into the Port of Palm Beach. This vessel which has a draft of 27 ft, and a beam of 99 ft is the maximum allowable size vessel allowed to transit into the port due to the shoaling going on that forces all vessel to have a maximum operating draft of 29 ft. No room for error. Also featured in this video is a regular cargo vessel...

My background Why does a ship need a marine pilot How did we get here b.w.o training and qualification? Background history of Reef Pilots Info on different pilot stations within the Great Barrier Reef Torres Straits with its complex tides Our commute to work - boat & helicopter videos Different types of ships, cargoes and nationalities trading within the Great Barrier Reef Work life onboard.... the good, the bad and the ugly Some trivia and fun facts about mariners’ life at sea

The pilots make docking mega-ships look easy despite the meteorological disturbance.
Great pictures from Morocco

This video seems to be slow and boring for non maritime people, but doing the job in a good way needs a lot of experience and knowledge. And it's the very the best job in the world.

It remains a sad fact that accidents and near misses continue to occur during pilot transfers with frightening regularity. Most of these fortunately do not result in injury, and a surprisingly high number of them are not even recognised for what they are.

Surveys into pilot ladder safety consistently reveal that unacceptably high numbers of pilot transfer arrangements are not compliant with the regulations.

Using two, 66TBP tugs to assist in berthing the 90,000 GT bulker “Jin Weng Feng”. The port is “Puerto Brisas” at La Guajira, Colombia. The vessel is turned to port just outside the berth limits due to limited room in the basin with enough depth. Then she’s backed in.

off Taipei, bit choppy seas

Video upload on 02/01/2020 by TVBS NEWS
We do not put videos of accidents on our website out of voyeurism. We would like to point out that the work of a pilot is always dangerous, especially when embarking and disembarking!
These incidents should be a warning. It can hit anyone out of carelessness.
Dear pilots, please always be mindful and always think of your safety!