Fremantle Ports - an up-close look at pilot transfers

Spotted some Pilot Boats in the Port of Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne & Fremantle Australia (Port codes: Auckland:NZ AKL ; Melbourne:AU MEL ; Fremantle:AU FRE).

Harbour Services Australia was the client for this ultra-efficient pilot vessel, Dongara Marine's second Berkeley Class pilot boat to operate from the port of Fremantle. Delivered in June 2019 it joined Fremantle Pilots’ Berkeley, which had already been operating with great success in the Western Australian port since 2015. Purpose-designed to maximise overall operability and the safety and comfort of pilots and crew even in demanding sea conditions, the Berkeley Class provides: • High open...

32x real-time. Footage by Tim Gourlay (www.perthhydro.com) during April 2016 GNSS ship motion trials with the Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Curtin University, and Fremantle Ports.

According to a report from the Maritime-Executive.com the Crescent River Port Pilots Association wants to raise the pilotage fee.

APA says: “Pilots share NOAA’s goal of protecting the North Atlantic right whale, but this is the wrong approach.”

The following article appeared in AIMPA magazine number 2 about the strength and testing of pilot ladders : There is much more information about pilot ladders in the AIMPA magazine, second issue, if you wish to read more you can download a copy at the bottom of this post.

With ships as large as 175 feet wide and a channel a maximum of 500 feet wide, how to you safely pass? Former Houston ship channel pilot, Lou Vest, explains how ships fight against hydrodynamics to pass with such narrow margins.
https://houstonmaritime.org

A pilot boat entering the port of Miami.

Qualified pilots are usually employed by the local port or maritime administration, and provide their services to ships for a fee, calculated in relation to the ship’s tonnage, draught or other criteria.