Pilot Boarding

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.

photo and article by Luis Vale, Portugal

Footage of the "Pilot Station Vessel" POLARIS of the Dutch Pilot Organisation, made with a DJI Phantom Drone, controlled with a FPV (First Person View), and equipped with a GoPro Hero 3 camera.
The location is Maascenter, an important navigation point for ships entering the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Date: 15 may 2014. Music: Skrillex - Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites.

Tanker went out of control after engine failure and collided with general cargo ship in Kiel Canal near Kiel locks, at around 0120 LT Jul 27.

9 December 2019 - 'APL Mexico City' hits adrift and rams port crane in Antwerp.
Author of these images is unknown, they circulate freely on social media.
Should an author identify with these images and have any objections, they will be removed upon simple request to Flows.be.

The San Francisco Bar Pilots are one of the important cogs in our supply chain wheel. They are tasked with boarding the vessels eleven miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge via a rope ladder often in rough seas and taking control of the vessels en route to the Port of Stockton. Once on the bridge of the ship, the Pilot oversees navigation and ensures the safe passage of ships into the Bay and through the Delta until it is secured alongside its berth at the Port. Without these Pilots the...