Those Who Serve: Columbia River bar pilots risk their lives to guide cargo ships

The fascinating tale told by Roger Francis about his life at sea and ultimately as a Deep Sea Pilot. The explanation in detail of the terrific responsibilities comes with tales of daring-do, near misses and other peoples' disasters. Roger's personal tale takes him from kiddy to cadet and from 3rd Mate to Master before he became a Deep Sea Pilot guiding shipping on the busiest shipping thoroughfare in the world - the Dover Straits. On top of this, there is love interest and action in war...

On October 11, 2018, the Kristin Alexis was performing fleeting work with a crew of six, including a captain, pilot, and four deckhands (two per shift), at the Cooper Consolidated fleeting facility at Convent located at mile 161.5. About 2300, the Cooper Consolidated dispatcher informed the Kristin Alexis captain that their next job was to move the derrick-type crane barge Mr Ervin upriver to the Cooper Consolidated fleeting facility in Darrow, located at mile 175.

To monitor the vessel’s progress, the pilot had set up his portable pilotage unit (PPU). He had connected the rate-of-turn generator to the vessel’s pilot plug and had set a variable range marker on the radar with a radius of 0.5 nm.

The Puget Sound Pilots’ mission is to ensure against the loss of lives, loss of or damage to property and vessels, and to protect the marine environment by maintaining efficient and competent pilotage service on our State’s inland waters within the Puget Sound Pilotage District. The members of the Pilots are highly skilled, specially trained vessel captains who board oil tankers, cargo vessels and cruise ships to guide them safely through Puget Sound waters. The pilots are independent...

Please read this statement of Joris J. Stuip from PTR Holland, Partner of Marine-Pilots.com.

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Why do we see so many unapproved and low-quality pilot ladders? The answer is invariably price. OK, we all like a bargain, but ...

All India Marine Pilot Association has been formed by a Group of Mariners who care for "safety and security" of the Marine Pilots. Although a lot of our Indian seafarers felt the dire need of such a body, it was only after the unfortunate and untimely demise of Capt V P Gupta following his fall from the ladder on 8th August 2019, that pilots and like-minded individuals started expressing their displeasure about the 'Eco-system'. Capt. Virendra Mishra, C.E.O., The Shipping Tribune, had the...

The seaport of Nouakchott, Mauritania, is experiencing problems related to wind and swell, risks of grounding due to unreliable berth depths, harbour infrastructure damage claims, an acceptance of the vessel's draught survey figures and shortage claims.

Issues like the Covid 19 crisis and the moves towards increased autonomy appear to be driving a renewed interest in Shore Based Pilotage (SBP), nowadays often called Remote Pilotage.

The All India Maritime Pilots' Association has released its new journal for April