Swash@A&R "Explorer"

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.

Danpilot Merkur (MMSI 219001061) Pilot Vessel. Displacement 20. L. 13.90. W. 4.60. Built 1995. Dockstavarvet, Sweden. Flag Denmark.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation delivered a new Chesapeake class pilot boat to the Associated Federal Pilots in Venice, Louisiana.

Chesapeake Bay pilots guide massive cargo ships safely through the Bay's channels every day, but boarding them on a ladder attached to a moving ship is nothing short of breathtaking. Watch the video from a retired Bay Pilot.

Captain Matt Glass, a deputy pilot with the Houston Pilots, boards and guides the UAL Capetown on the Houston Ship Channel from the landing area outside Galveston Bay to the Manchester docks in Houston, a voyage of about 7 hours.