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

Experiences from Australia: No two days are the same for a marine pilot in a busy port such as Esperance, but Mr MacAdie wouldn’t have it any other way.

By 2001, the Houston Pilots led the way in hiring minorities and women, and a few years later it formed a nonprofit called Anchor Watch, to offer scholarships to maritime students in need and boost opportunities for minority and women candidates. Captain Holly Cooper joined the Houston Pilots in 1994 as the group’s 151st pilot and the first woman to begin training as a deputy.

Reflections on his work on the Mississippi River (2014)

Going Beyond Borders. The first oversized Kasko (120m x 40m) passed the Holtenau locks at Kiel on her way from the Neptun shipyard in Rostock to Meyer shipyard in Papenburg.
The planning and simulation study on this towage has been performed by NAUTITEC and KOTUG, with the great assistance of pilots and Kiel canal authorities on behalf of Meyer shipyard.
Produced by AVE-Solutions in order of Nautitec, Kotug and Bijma Sleepdiensten.

The Ship Voyage - Poem - By_ Khan
www.Marine-Pilots.com

This video shows us what all takes place during unmooring and pilotage operation in detail. Must watch for all.

Eerie fog envelops the Disney Wonder as the cruise ship enters the mouth of the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico. A pilot boat approaches to drop off the Mississippi River boat pilot.
The eerie fog made it look like the ship somehow transported to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
No sign of Captain Jack Sparrow, but he has to be hiding somewhere. Maybe he's at the Crown & Fin Pub having a tot of Navy Strength Pusser's Rum.
Video taken from deck 10 aft near the Palo restaurant.

On April 20, 2026, the Columbia River Bar Pilots conducted a MOB drill with the U.S. Coast Guard Station Astoria.