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.

During the transit time on the pilot launch between the shore and the vessel, marine pilots will spend at least a portion of that time carrying out (either consciously or subconsciously) a risk assessment of the forthcoming operation.

Over the past few years a number of pilot transfer accidents have occurred resulting from total failure of the side ropes, one school of thought is that the methods of securing a pilot ladder is a factor in such occurrences.

It is not often that this blog is used to show bad practice, however in this case some pictures tell a whole story. Ship is compliant by design for rigging a combination. How about the operator(s)?

Project results in detail. Efficient port flow using the Port Activity App in the ports of Gävle and Rauma. Sharing time stamps making planning easier for all involved actors. Efficient ship Flow by using a Route distribution service helping pilots better plan meeting points in narrow fairways, saving some fuel but more importantly increasing safety.

The Varna Pilot Station in Bulgaria has chosen Seably, the global online marketplace for bespoke maritime learning, to become the first pilot station to use the digital platform for its training.

The British Tugowners Association (BTA) in collaboration with the UK Chamber of Shipping has launched its new Pilots’ Pocket Guide and Checklist.

Understanding the fundamentals of the pivot point is highly required for understanding the alteration of the courses. Pivot point is an imaginary point on the vessel which turns on a circular path on the perimeter of vessel’s turning circle when the vessel makes a turn. The knowledge about the position of the pivot point in a manoeuvring situation provides the ship handler with the information on the geometry of motion of the ship.

After 30+ years of service, the vessel needed to be re-powered. A $1.7 million re-powering project was initiated and completed during 2004.