Pilot Boarding in Valetta (Malta)

Malta Maritime Pilots

Harbour pilots perform tricky operations boarding big cruise ships from fast pilot boats. Auckland and Malta.

Big thanks to Geraldton Port Authority for allowing Bill and I to go out in one of their pilot boats and board a ship. It was a beautiful day for it.

In early December, just as I was starting to get into ship spotting, I saw a couple of vessels headed up river towards Philly. One of them, the Cielo di Iyo met with the harbor pilot right as I had my drone up. I was able to capture the Pilot coming to meet the vessel and CLIMBING the ladder to get on board just before she passed beneath the Walt Whitman Bridge.

The Halifax Pilot Boat recovering a Pilot from a cruise ship in some rough weather
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#cargoship #seaferer #norway

A pilot ladder is a highly specialized form of rope ladder, typically used on board cargo vessels for the purposes of embarking and disembarking pilots.

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.

Pilot of cargo ship Ever Forward, which ran aground in Chesapeake Bay last year, gives up license