Piloting a 190 meter Bulker with 2 tugs

A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting.

There are many things in both our everyday and professional lives which we take for granted and never question the origins of, an example of this might be the IMPA recommended ‘pilot mark or pilot line’, which is sometimes seen on the side of vessels indicating where a vessels freeboard exceeds 9 metres.

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?"

Issues like the Covid 19 crisis and the moves towards increased autonomy appear to be driving a renewed interest in Shore Based Pilotage (SBP), nowadays often called Remote Pilotage.

Watch and listen as Houston Pilots and the crew of the HOUSTON pilot boat tell the story.

A glimpse onboard cargo ship on how we do reportings upon entering VTS area and contacting of pilot upon arrival. On this video, the vessel is arriving in port of Bremen, Germany.
How we do it onboard? Watch the full video.

On March 15, 2021, about 1302 local time, the oil tanker Riverside with a crew of 21 and 2 pilots was transiting outbound from the port of Corpus Christi, near Ingleside, Texas, in a loaded condition when the vessel lost propulsion and struck the no. 4 loading dock at the Moda Ingleside Energy Center. 1 No pollution or injuries were reported. Damage to the vessel was estimated at $550,000. The estimated property damage to the facility was $7 million.

Gabon, Baie du Prince, 2012.
Getting that nice fat lady alongside

This document aims to provide information to pilot organisations and/or competent pilotage authorities on the conduct of pilot transfer operations.

IcePad Demonstration, MARSAT
a product driven by Drift + Noise and TRENZ GmbH, Germany