Fédération Française des Pilotes Maritimes (FFPM)

What a great pleasure to meet these guys at the harbour - they could not have been more helpful and forthright about their work. At first glance, the glide of these orange powerboats up and down Belfast Lough seems an almost effortless task, but close up this is a very skilled trade and constant management of risk 24/7 in high and low seas, jumping from ship to boat to land taking safe control of the great volume of steel vessel coming in and out of this busy port. Though a hub of...

At one point, the Captain on the Ship while being highly respected, also carried great responsibility and had the ultimate accountability for everything on board. But this respect, responsibility and accountability has not come overnight, or just when the Captain wears his four stripes.

The Maryland Pilots have guided ships to and from Baltimore since the 1700's. They have been chartered as an organization since 1852. This is an edited except from films about the Pilots shot between 1950-1965 for the Port that Built a City and State. The original films are in the archives of the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

As the world struggles with the Covid-19 virus, the maritime world is being hit hard, not only economically, but also socially and operationally. Iin shipping there are no borders.

The debate is whether highly skilled pilots could have successfully overcome the recent Boeing 737 MAX computer deficiencies. Will this question eventually be relevant to harbor pilot skills?

November 29,2021

PTR Holland Group partners with RightShip to elevate pilot transfer safety through the Zero Harm Innovation Partners Program.

An innovative approach to marine pilotage recruitment and training has increased the breadth of skills and knowledge in our marine team and set us up for the long term.

Time Lapse Video of a Ship Entering Harbor

Grounding container vessel Shahraz and MV Samudra Sakti in Singapore Strait May 10 2020
What happened?
MV "Shahraz" and MV "Samudra Sakti I" had run aground to the shallow Batu Berhanti in the Indonesian territorial waters within 6 minutes, which is surveyed with minimum water depths of 8.3 m in the northern part and up to 0.5 m in the southern part . It is located south of TSS Singapore Strait’s eastbound traffic lane.
A chain of events which must be described as extra ordinary rarity....