Pilot Boat Alongside Scarlet Lady Cruise Ship

On Wednesday, January 24, 2018, the #PortAuthorityJa hosted a Naming & Commissioning Service for #Kingston1 and #Kingston2, two new pilot boats for the service of Jamaica. The new boats replace older, undersized and malfunctioning ones, and is part of ongoing meaningful improvements to maritime operations at at our ports island-wide! Here are highlights, courtesy of #WeirzWorldMedia!

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation delivered a new Chesapeake class pilot boat to the Associated Federal Pilots in Venice, Louisiana.

Port Canaveral will add a new security patrol vessel and a pilot boat after receiving federal grant funding for several projects to protect against terrorism and other security threats.

Editors note: A film of a pilot boat has just been published on YouTube with the title "How Dangerous being in a Pilot Boat..." on YouTube. I'm not sure if this really shows a dangerous maneuver, maybe the experts can comment on it here.
But in principle it is problematic to approach the ship in such a small Pilot Boat in the wake from astern and cross the waves there. I remember an accident from Finland in December 2017 where the boat capsized and people died. Is this situation shown here...

A good working relationship with the pilot, effective Master Pilot Information Exchange at the start of the pilotage followed by well performing Bridge Resource Management during the pilotage passage, are important factors in a successful pilotage.

I have had the privilege of being at quite a number of meetings, conferences and seminars, sometimes representing The Netherlands, but mostly representing the Netherlands pilots. I have had many discussions about the role of pilots and pilot organisations, which lead me to write an article “What is the added value of pilotage?”, published in the February 2020 issue of Seaways.

Blog: https://www.merrimacins.com/understanding-and-preventing-tug-barge-risks/ Understanding and Preventing Tug & Barge Risks The maritime industry relies on tugboats and barges for a wide range of applications. Tugs are used to pilot vessels into and out of ports, while barges are used to transport bulk materials. The relationship between tugs and barges is critical, as most barges are not self-propelled and must rely on the skilled operation of a tug or tugs for propulsion. At Merrimac...

Shipping has evolved significantly over the years. Research in maritime safety and operations over the past few decades has been intensive and has resulted in significant improvements.

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.