Pilot boat Le Fret

A Dutch man, after having stolen the pilots' boat and set fire to it, sowed panic in the port of Livorno, giving rise to a chase at sea.

Safehaven Marine build a range of vessels for many different operational roles such as patrol, survey, crew transfer to name a few, but what makes Safehaven unique is that we specialize in pilot boats, with 80% of our production dedicated to just this area, and have supplied over 50 pilot craft all around the world over the last 17 years.

A Sydney harbor pilot boat tries to get a pilot off the MS Amsterdam leaving Sydney on November 28, 2018. Due to the rough weather the pilot boat needed several attempts before the pilot was able to disembark the MS Amsterdam safely.
A Sydney harbor pilot boat tries to get a pilot off the MS Amsterdam leaving Sydney on November 28, 2018. Due to the rough weather the pilot boat needed several attempts before the pilot was able to disembark the MS Amsterdam safely.

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.

Ships don't exactly have brakes. Lou Vest, a retired Houston ship channel pilot tells us about a close encounter between a ship and a barge.
https://houstonmaritime.org

Required tug power and number of tugs needed in variable conditions of wind, current and waves isin most cases an assessment made by pilots based on their professional experience. However, assessments will raise questions by lawyers if something goes wrong. They will use tools to calculate what really is needed with respect to tug power and number of tugs. They have furthermore the advantage of time.

Short demonstration highlighting key features of the VR Marine Pilot training simulation LWA Solutions have delivered for the Ports of Auckland.
Editors Note (4th July 2020):
This video shows the fantastic possibilities of virtual reality technology. Wonderful demo by Ports of Auckland. In respect for doing this amazing experiment. If somebody knows more about this or other interesting similar projects please leave a comment below and help us to complete information about virtual reality...

This expert article is based on a presentation given by Capt. Pilot Sven Stemmler at the MCN's (Maritimes Cluster Norddeutschland e. V. ) event ‘On the Future of the Pilot Profession’ at Fraunhofer CML in Hamburg on 9 September 2025.