Wallaby Boats model in the wave tank in slow motion

Pilot cutters are used to take pilots between the three pilot stations (at Gravesend, Harwich and Ramsgate) and ships entering or leaving the Port of London.
Three dedicated pilot cutters Patrol, Guide and our hybrid Leader are based at Gravesend. The six cutters used at Ramsgate are operated by a Estuary Services Limited, which is jointly owned by the PLA and Medway Ports Ltd.

pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship 

Pilot boats are an essential part of our maritime world where they provide safe passage for ships to and from the harbor. The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) has 23 pilot stations in Sweden.

Serkan Kahraman and Yusuf Zorba have published a new book for marine pilots. In this book, maritime pilots and shipmasters’ situational awareness levels have been analyzed using a bridge simulator system and the results have been obtained.

Article by Seyed Behbood Issa-Zadeh & Claudia Lizette Garay-Rondero

Oct. 13, 2022
Harbor pilot departing the NCL Prima in rough seas.

One of the biggest ships in the world, 23,000+ TEU container ship MSC MIA, reportedly contacted gantry crane while leaving container terminal at Valencia.