Dutch Pilot Boat Approaching. Swath Technology

At the A&R shipyard in Germany, the successful principle of SWATH boats was further developed in 2013: The SWASH principle allows sea-going, smaller and more economical boats.

SWATH and SWASH are interesting technologies that allow a vessel to sail much more calmly in high waves. A stable and calm position of the ship is especially important for pilot boarding.

Abeking Rasmussen
The shipyard has been developing and building ships for navies, coastguards, the public sector, ship operators and private customers since 1907. In addition to sailing- and motoryachts, current products include minesweepers and --hunters, patrol boats plus special ships like research and supply ships for the offshore industry.
With SWATH@A&R technology Abeking & Rasmussen developed a type of ship with exceptional seakeeping capabilities that provides a stable working...

Here’s a cool little video of the rough weather sea trails of ‘Port Láirge’ The Port of Waterford’s new Interceptor 48 pilot boat ready to be delivered next week. We had two days of rough weather, a Force 8 with 3.5m seas putting up some surf breakers over the Daunt and a second day with winds reaching Force 10 offshore, with 55kts of wind and 5m swells, allowing us to properly test her capabilities ensuring she's fully fit for purpose for the pilots and crew. Doing so we captured some...

Delta Launch Services, the operating company for the Associated Branch pilots on the SW Pass of the Mississippi, has taken delivery of a new pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. This is the sixth St. John’s Class launch built for the Delta pilots by the Somerset, Mass. shipyard.

Here’s a nice video of the ‘Independent Vision’ having her pilot embarked offshore by the Cork pilot boat ‘Failte’ an Interceptor 48 before she enters Cork Harbour. We also undertook some alongside handling trials at the same time with ‘San Cibrao’ before she is shipped to Spain. Sure was interesting trying to land the drone back on the boat in the 40kt winds offshore!

The smart fairway digitalization pilot is a part of the EMMA Extension project that is funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. This summer, 34 smart buoys were installed in the Saimaa deep fairway, which is Finland’s most important inland waterway for merchant shipping.
Safety is enhanced in particular by the fact that the pilots and VTS can adjust the light output of beacons and the rhythm of lights to support the navigation of vessels in poor visibility and weather conditions....