San Francisco Shipping, Bar Pilot Transfer

photo and article by Luis Vale, Portugal

Tuesday, October 1st is the start date of the latest International Maritime Pilot Association's annual Safety Campaign.

Previous campaigns by the association have consistently shown results of pilot ladder deficiencies around the 20% mark.

Fathom Safety now offers an online course on Pilot Ladder Training

As we all know there is a new regulation established since July 2012, this new regulation refers to pilot transfer arrangements. There are other yearly safety campaigns such as IMPA that include SOLAS V.23 and IMO Resolution A 1045 and Resolution A.1108(29). Unfortunately, in this annual overview there were some accidents reported that could have been avoided.

It’s my first voyage taking over solo watch as a navigating officer – from bridge commands to monitoring traffic and weather, every second counts. Once we arrive in Ningbo, it’s straight into cargo operations, intense mooring work, and pilotage.

This important topic is still underestimated in shipping! Can you trust your GPS? Your Galileo? Knowing where the ship is and where to sail next is the main task of navigating a ship and is commonly supported by using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). But what happens if the GNSS gets intentionally disturbed?

Full title: "The Digital Transformation of Canadian Hydrographic Offices, and the Corresponding Contributions to Seabed 2030 and Lakebed 2030"
Presented at the Lakebed 2030 Conference in 2021
Get involved at Lakebed2030.org

A maritime pilot, also known as harbor pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or ongested waters, such as harbors or river mouths.