Pilot boat manoeuvring towards mega cargo ship

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.

The entrance to Cork Harbour situated on the South coast of Ireland can produce some pretty extreme sea states during the winter storm months. There are two main factors that influence the sea state at the entrance, the first being the ebbing tide, the second being shoaling waters over the Harbour Rock, this is situated at the entrance to the Harbour off Roches Point lighthouse, right in the middle between the Western and Eastern channel entrances.

Reminder: Sjöfartsverket is proud to announce the launch of the first FASTWATER demonstrator: The pilot boat.
They would like to celebrate this important milestone with you and invite you to our online pilot boat launch event on December 14th, 2021 from 10.00 - 12.00.

Safehaven Marine based in Ireland have just delivered a pilot vessel for operations at the Port of Berbera in
Somaliland, Africa. ‘Sanaag’ is one of Safehaven’s Interceptor 38 pilot vessels, at 11.9m LOA, a very capable design which proves economical to operate, yet capable of dealing with very rough seas and challenging boarding conditions when required.

Brightlingsea Harbour - a mixed leisure and commercial port on the East Coast of England
has recently signed contracts with Seaward to have a new pilot boat built, The demands of Pilot duties as well as working as a patrol boat and harbour launch, and the sea conditions that can occur in the area made the Nelson hulled Seaward the natural choice of vessel.

The HamiltonJet waterjet is one of the most advanced and innovative marine propulsion systems in use today, and is at the forefront of waterjet propulsion technology. Now we are also consistently delivering vessel autonomy solutions in conjunction with our waterjet technologies.

This expert article is based on a presentation given by Capt. Pilot Sven Stemmler at the MCN's (Maritimes Cluster Norddeutschland e. V. ) event ‘On the Future of the Pilot Profession’ at Fraunhofer CML in Hamburg on 9 September 2025.

SeaSafe - Marine pilot falling off a ships ladder with his integrated life jacket coat