Pilot Boat "Enggang"

Pilot boat approaches Carnival Splendor off the coast of Victoria, Canada

Traffic has began to become congested and slowed due to specialized river pilots being mandated to quarantine due to Covid-19 regulations when returning from duties along China’s Yangtze which happens to be the longest river in East Asia.

Barracuda comes to shepherd SS Shieldhall into Poole harbour on the 4th of September 2021. The day the biplane crashed in front of the Haven Hotel at Sandbanks.

Port of Shenzhen added 3 new boats to their fleet.

Pilotboat Galveston boarding Unit #6 inbound to Texas City. Seas got a little spicy today. 🌊🌊
#galtexpilots #gladdinghearn #pilotboatgalveston #goprohero11 #rammounts #galvestonpilots #ship #legend #crowley #ATBLEGEND #TUGANDBARGE

Going down the accommodation ladder with neither lifevest nor safety line must have been based on similar, past, successful operations, which may have never been challenged on board. This ‘slippage’ in safety is a pernicious and common phenomenon.

Following in a long line of ever more refined and very seaworthy vessels, this small example of a Safehaven pilot boat has been chosen for operations on and around Scotland’s Cromarty Firth.

Article originally published in SWZ|Maritime September 2022

Through the years, the Dutch Pilots have developed a system of selection, initial education and continual professional training. What is the current state of affairs?