Pilot boat goes out, Pilot Boat comes in. The saltie Cape comes in. Busy Sunday in Duluth!

The "Sea Bear", (ex "Narrows") was built in 1959 in Massachusetts for use as a pilot boat in New York. Ed Montgomery, at Sea Service, LLC, bought her and brought her to the Twin Ports in September, 2002.

The mouth of the Duluth Canal is a dangerous entrance in bad weather. Here the coast guard shows the agility of their boats. What a ride!

Live Stream for Duluthharborcam.com

Does the growth of ships ever have limits? Perhaps less in shipbuilding than in the handling of the ships during piloting.

For as long as ships have been sailing the seas, there have been maritime pilots to guide them through the most dangerous waterways. But there is a worldwide shortage of seafarers and the industry is struggling to attract young people into the profession. Our Business Correspondent Sarah Corker has been given rare access to film with pilots on the Humber Estuary who work 365 days a year, whatever the weather. And a warning, Sarah’s report may make you feel sea sick.

Lately there has been a considerable increase in opinions of seagoing ship´s masters complaining about pilotage services, expressed whether as LinkedIn articles and comments or in some reputable industry magazines.

Qualified pilots are usually employed by the local port or maritime administration, and provide their services to ships for a fee, calculated in relation to the ship’s tonnage, draught or other criteria.

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?

When a vessel navigates in confined waters, such as in a harbour or narrow channel, it is well known among experienced pilots that the ship handling is greatly affected by the hydrodynamic forces and moments acting between ship and bank or sidewall of the channel.