Hamburg Pilot Boats: "Lotse 1" and "Lotse 2"

The General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), a port operating company under the Iraqi Ministry of Transport, recently began operating a new catamaran pilot station vessel built by Colombo Dockyard (CDPLC) of Sri Lanka.

The Pacific Guardian pilot boat is first seen in Victoria Harbour near Ogden Point before making her way to Point Hope Maritime Shipyard for a full refit. This video captures the entire move process, from the cradle lowering into the harbour, to the careful docking of the vessel, to her move across the turntable and onto the spur line. Some of the footage has been sped up, since the cradle lowering and lifting are slow, deliberate operations where every movement is checked and rechecked....

Pilot Boat Design by ShipMar
More detail at
https://shipmar.com/divisions/harbour-and-terminal/pilot-1350/

After 30+ years of service, the vessel needed to be re-powered. A $1.7 million re-powering project was initiated and completed during 2004.

Pilot Boats can be inspected in Finland. Price: € 590,000 each (new price approx. € 1,300,000 each).
They have been overhauled there and will be sold with a new shipyard guarantee on shipbuilding. IMCA MISW report is available

It has been shown that a majority (51%) of pilot ladders is secured by means of D-shackles, when secured at intermediate length. Previous research (Evans, 2020) has proven that this method has only about 50% of the strength of the pilot ladder when secured at full length (“double ended ladder”), or by means of the “endless-sling” method.

The Journal of the international Maritime Pilots´ Association

AMSA: A pilot was seriously injured after losing balance when a large wave impacted the vessel at the same time as they stood up to remove their lifejacket while in the cabin.

Day two at the offshore Pilot station out of San Francisco. https://instagram.com/sea_weathered?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=