Pilot boarding with pilot boat "Spindletop"

Breaux’s Bay Craft, Loreauville, La., delivered the new 90’x23’x12’4″ aluminum pilot boat Spindletop to the Sabine Pilots on March 6. The Sabine Pilots, Port Arthur, Texas, serve the Texas ports of Orange, Port Arthur and Beaumont. “This is the biggest pilot boat built in the U.S.,” said Roy Breaux, the shipyard’s owner. “There are bigger ones in other parts of the world, but this is the largest in the U.S.”

BREAUX'S BAY CRAFT 90' PILOT VESSEL

In one of the busiest and most critical waterways in the United States, timing and safety are everything. Along the Sabine-Neches Waterway in Port Arthur, Texas, the Sabine Pilots are redefining maritime pilot transfer by taking to the air. This video follows the Sabine Pilots and HeliService USA as they use Leonardo AW169 helicopters to move pilots safely and efficiently between ships—reducing risk, improving responsiveness, and keeping America’s energy gateway moving. From offshore hoists...

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.

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

PTR Holland® are aware that certain parties have copied and supply, low-quality imitations of our rope ladders through several ship-chandlers in Rotterdam, Houston, Greece and in Turkey.

Watch as a pilot boat approaches and picks up the pilot after escorting the carnival dream from the harbor in Freeport Bahamas

Compulsory pilotage will now be required for dry cargo and passenger vessels over 3,000 gross tonnes and tankers of 1,000 gross tonnes transiting eastern Hong Kong waters to and from the area of Yantian Container Terminals and Dapeng LNG Terminals, according to a Hong Kong Government Ordinance.

Time Lapse Video: An inbound LNG carrier arrives at the Port of Rotterdam. At sea, in the Eurogeul channel, two maritime pilots have joined the vessel. Between the breakwaters four harbour tugs (Smit Harbour Towage) make fast to assist her manoeuvre. In the Beerkanaal channel the LNG carrier is stopped and swung before entering the Nijlhaven harbour. While approaching LNG Jetty 1 the ship's mooring lines are taken ashore by mooringboats (Koninklijke Roeiers Vereeniging Eendracht).
Pilot...