Old Dutch Pilot Boat, NorthSea Trials, Old Marine Engine 750HP@300RPM

They are very proud at Next Generation Shipyards in Lauwersoog; the brand-new tender for the Dutch Pilotage is ready in the harbor. Costs: 3.5 million euros.

Let us start a journey back in time. Back to the black and white films of history. The times have changed, but it is good to know what kind of things have changed and where are the roots of pilotage.

• The Dutch pilots offer a contribution to the safe and quick pilotage of ships to and from the Dutch ports and the Flemish ports on the Scheldt River. Each year, they assist about 100,000 ships. • Loodswezen aims to play a leading role by excelling in terms of service provision, training and education, efficiency, technology and customer satisfaction. • The highly-trained maritime pilots and other staff members work closely together to ensure safe and efficient operations in all...

Although it cannot be said that ship piloting is the world’s oldest profession, most maritime experts do agree that pilotage does date back to antiquity.

Here's a cool little video of 'PORT LÁIRGE', the Port of Waterford’s new pilot boat we've just launched and it was wonderful to have built another pilot boat for Ireland. She's our 15m Interceptor 48 pilot and is the 48th pilot boat we’ve supplied to ports globally. Powered by a pair of Scania D13 500hp engines she has an operational speed of over 25kts and is capable of carrying of 5 pilots and 2 crew in fine comfort. I think she looks just fabulous in red and blue and look forward to...

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...

November 2019

Pilot boats are an essential part of our maritime world where they provide safe passage for ships to and from the harbor. The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) has 23 pilot stations in Sweden.

In Novorossiysk (Russia, Black Sea), a marine pilot died during a pilot transfer and an investigation has been launched. The incident occurred on the evening of 14 March at about 21:40.

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