History: Lightship (1950)

Many people wonder how ships made it across entire oceans without getting lost in the seventeenth century. Aaron introduces seventeenth century navigation to us today by beginning with piloting.

Look at Life - City of Sailors - Portsmouth - 1965
Portsmouth is no longer the sea-faring city it once was; this film from the Documentary Series "Look At Life" Volume 5 - Cultural Heritage in 1965 looks at its changing face.

Step back in time to the height of Britain's maritime influence with this look at the unsung heroes of the shipping industry: the sea pilots. In the 1960s, as global trade patterns shifted and shipping technology began its rapid evolution, British sea pilots remained the vital, trusted guides navigating the world’s most complex waterways. From the treacherous currents of the River Mersey to the bustling ports of the coast, these men held the legal conduct of massive vessels in their hands,...

One of AMPI’s core missions is to advocate for the safety and well-being of marine pilots, and an essential part of that work is developing Position Statements.

Many of you saw the last video and we were traveling South through the canal, but this video is from our Northbound transit.
Enjoy the footage and soon I hope to be back to work again. Waiting for the results of my physical exams to clear.

A handy and simple tool to determine in a minimum time what is really needed as tug assistance, is the Bollard Pull Calculator which calculates in an approximate way the total required tug power for ships in various conditions of wind and current. This tool can be loaded as an app on the smart phone.

World Maritime Day Program, Pilotage in Maldives. Documentary Produced by Capt.Mohamed Shahid in association with AMMARI (Association for Maldives Maritime Industry and Maldives Ports Limited. Special thanks to :- Mr. Shahid Ali, CEO, Maldives Ports Ltd. Capt. Ahmed Rasheed, Harbor Master, Maldives Ports Ltd. Mr. Muzni Mohamed, Maldives Ports Ltd. Capt. Hussain Faisal, Senior Pilot, Maldives Ports Ltd. Capt. Ahmed Muaz, Senior Pilot, Maldives Ports Ltd. Capt. Zaid, President, Association...

This updated video shows how easy it is to develop an arrival plan with the SAMMON Planning Tool. As a sample the arrival from appraoch until the berth to Ft. Lauderdale is used under strong current of 2kn. At the simulator training courses where we used this tool for preparation of a manoeuvring plan during the briefing sessions all nautical officers involved stated afterwards: "Why don't we have this tool on our ships?"

The 160 pilots allotted to the PZ are distributed in eight pilot companies responsible for attending ships that seek the ports or terminals of Santana (AP), Munguba (PA), Santarém (PA), Trombetas (PA), Juruti (PA) and Itacoatiara (AM), as they sail upriver (against the current).

"Person over board - all pilot boat crewmembers and pilots should be trained in recovery as realistic as possible. Don’t wait for a real emergency to find out that something doesn’t work as intended!"