From Dusk to Dawn - SOHAR Port

Container ship @ Port of Sohar

Let us start a journey back in time. Back to the black and white films of history. The times have changed, but it is good to know what kind of things have changed and where are the roots of pilotage.

The practice is essential to the safety of waterway traffic, as it avoids or minimizes accidents that can cost the lives of people, cause damage to the environment and enormous material losses.
The structure is fully maintained by the practicing companies themselves, without the contribution of any public resource, related to the maintenance of the speedboats, the 24-hour operation of their Operations Centers, the training of their employees, the acquisition and maintenance of communication,...

The American Maritime Pilot has a special and important job bringing ships into port safely. In the history of pilots Robert Smalls stands out as one of the most heroic and able pilots in American History.
Watch the full video below:

When I was a deck officer back in the early nineties I worked on a ship that used to load grain at different ports along the Mississippi river. The name of the ship was Golden Hope, a 600 feet long dry bulk carrier with a 95 feet in beam. An average size vessel for those days' standards.

Video showing marine pilot navigating a cargo ship from Plan du Port

At 244 meters long, 42 meters wide, made up of 57,000 tons of steel and carrying approximately $41 million dollars’ worth of cargo, when the personnel at Teesport bring the Agathonissos – and vessels like her – into dock, there’s no room for error.
Watch this video to see how SafeTug helps to simplify this complex process, giving tug skippers, ship pilots and port personnel the vital information and situational awareness they need to bring her in safely.

For the second time in less than twelve months, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority has announced the successful legal action against a ship's master and the shipping company due to a defective ladder, leading to a pilot's injury during transfer

Today Captain Peter Dann (President AMPI) has published an open letter about concerns regarding simulation in lieu of on-water training and the situation in Brisbane.