Mersey pilot boat runs aground, and Polish ship, Pilsudski, is sunk (1939)

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.

Look at Life Vol 01 Transport Pilot Aboard 1963
The story of Britain's pilotage services.

The Maryland Pilots have guided ships to and from Baltimore since the 1700's. They have been chartered as an organization since 1852. This is an edited except from films about the Pilots shot between 1950-1965 for the Port that Built a City and State. The original films are in the archives of the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

During 2022 Saab’s shipyard in Docksta has delivered two Pilot Boats to Germany. In December a contract for a new Pilot Boat for Germany was signed.

Crude Oil Tanker British Robin passing St Anns Head on a rather windy day in Pembrokeshire.

The Pilot Boats captured in and around the waters of Victoria Canada c 2022 LSAC

The desire to improve efficiency and crew comfort has resulted in a new approach to hull design. Built from the ground up this new Pilot Boat design utilises an Extra Long Waterline (XLW) to maximise the waterline length.

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.

The term Automatic Identification System (AIS) refers to a radio system that improves the safety and guidance of vessel traffic by exchanging navigation and other vessel data.