From Dusk to Dawn - SOHAR Port

Container ship @ Port of Sohar

Our Pilot Boats play a crucial role in maintaining the daily flow of maritime traffic to and from Belfast Harbour. Working 24/7, 365 days a year, in all kinds of weather conditions, this dedicated team carries out the vital task of bringing the Harbour Pilots out to arriving vessels, where they guide them safely into their berths, as well as disembarking them, often in challenging sea conditions on Belfast Lough.
Kayleigh Ward, our sole female pilot boat crew member, reveals how she gave up...

Awesome video by Herman Broers, "The Rotterdam Pilot".

I have had the privilege of being at quite a number of meetings, conferences and seminars, sometimes representing The Netherlands, but mostly representing the Netherlands pilots. I have had many discussions about the role of pilots and pilot organisations, which lead me to write an article “What is the added value of pilotage?”, published in the February 2020 issue of Seaways.

A busy morning with all three pilot services on jobs at Point Lonsdale, Victoria, Australia.
Ship spotting at Point Lonsdale and other water activities.

A story I shot on the Delaware river pilots, very cool people who have a very important job. Every cargo ship that has to get anywhere up the Delaware River gets a pilot delivered to it while in the Delaware Bay, who guides it up through the narrow shoals

In the last couple of years several paid as well as free tools have made it easier than ever to access vessels on a map. Although vessels shown on a map have their place, authorities and industry are understanding the greater potential and value of the underlying AIS data.

From that moment on I have been keeping a tally of the non compliant boarding arrangements I see in front of me on a daily base, and off course I participate in the annual safety campaign, conducted by IMPA each october.

The Port of Waterford is to invest almost €1m in a new pilot boat to be named Port Láirge, which as Irish for Waterford is a name long associated with a steam-powered dredger that served Waterford for more than 70 years until the 1980s.

Today the 57th EMPA General Meeting started in Rome.

Approx. 200 attendees meet to discuss about the main topic "Pilotage - The Value of Human Capital".