Pilot Boat - Departure from Adelaide, Australia

pilot ship sea boat maritime waves merchantnavy offshore loodswezen
A dutch maritme pilot is boarding a ship to set course in to the Port of Rotterdam.
We are operating 24/7 - 365 days a year to make sure that the ships get in to and out off the port safely.

We bid farewell to our Otaru marine pilot just outside Otaru Harbor, Japan. The crew of the pilot tug were particularly fastidious about not marking up the side of the Viking Orion during the operations, spraying the interface with water, even though that might have made the transfer more hazardous for the pilot. From the Viking Orion, October 2024

U.S. Coastgard has published an update of their Recommendation for Pilot Transfer Arrangements in latest Marine Safety Information Bulletins (MSIB).

"Recent deaths of maritime pilots while embarking commercial vessels highlight the risks of operating in an
unforgiving maritime environment. To ensure the safety of all personnel boarding a vessel at sea, the Coast
Guard reminds vessel owners and operators of the requirements contained in the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter V, Regulation 23 and strongly recommends that owners and operators follow the recommendations within IMO Resolution A.1045(27) – Pilot Transfer Arrangements. "

A beautiful day, climbing up the (not-so-well-rigged) pilot ladder and then the stairs of the accommodation towards the bridge.

Delaware River Pilot Boat Cape Henlopen Transfers Pilot to Cargo Ship Al Wathba - Delaware River - Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania - June 6, 2025

10 Jan 2023
New York Maneuver

The Tampa Bay pilot association has returned its first Chesapeake Class pilot boat to Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding. Tampa was built in 2003 when the shipyard introduced the class of mid-size, high-speed launches.

In our new new section “Five questions for ..." Marine-Pilots.com introduces pilots and other market players to our readers in short interviews.

Today we have talked to Jason Ranston, Business Manager at eMPX

Australian technology provider Frontier Automation has released a new vessel tracking system that can be used as a docking aid tool by pilots. As for all Frontier Automation control systems, it uses 3D machine vision to automatically detect and track in real time shipping vessels within range of a berth by providing information on critical distances to mooring infrastructure, on vessel speed and angle, and on vessel movement directions and orientations.

In this special episode of Beyond the Frame, we take a peek into the career of ship pilots as told through former Maryland pilot and artist Captain Brian Hope's work, Boarding a Liberty ship - 1947.