Piloting the first wind turbines for Colombia

KITTIWAKE ( MMSI 232008570) is a Pilot and currently sailing under the flag of United Kingdom (UK) Here she is speeding down the River this morning.

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

There are some problems that never seem to go away and one is the perennial difficulties in providing a safe way of getting pilots on and off a ship.

Interesting video by "JeffHK" from Hong Kong about the job of a maritime pilot.

Gabon, Baie du Prince, 2012.
Getting that nice fat lady alongside

This article was first published back in February 2022: According to the International Group of P & I Clubs’ “Report on P&I claims involving vessels under pilotage 1999-2019”, over the last twenty years, there were 1,046 incidents in which pilot error either caused or contributed to those events.

Chapter 3 from the book "Crossing the Bar, The Adventures of a San Francisco Bay Bar Pilot" by Captain Paul Lobo, available on Amazon (link below)

Brief footage of a maritime pilot disembarking the Disney Magic and boarding his pilot boat as we left Nassau in January 2022.