Pilot Boat Race

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.

Spotted some Pilot Boats in the Port of Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne & Fremantle Australia (Port codes: Auckland:NZ AKL ; Melbourne:AU MEL ; Fremantle:AU FRE).

The Virginia Pilot Association has ordered a high-speed, harbor pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. It’s the pilots’ tenth launch built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard. Delivery is scheduled for mid-2023.

This is how a ship Pilot boarding a vessel in calm seas.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Ministry.for.restoration/posts/pfbid0ZSy9XuEdn8JFe38SCxhieyeLipRuwSE1V3LyzmAuyiGr5GiPAyXfR621vGWnuX8Vl?__cft__[0]=AZWwdGxJa-cQ4D72bQsr4qQjihMs4JfiQsAj9VMhhX55nVSFb0_pApBcc P2q_sfI7y6ppoPJUEA5DRnesMF4WWJL3JtuFHBtmHCjQ0ZjsVpI5S732ivCj_Y1Iu6SF8D58sJjZAKAzDQJWtRG_YQgcGeO&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R https://mil.in.ua/uk/news/frantsiya-peredala-ukrayini-lotsmanskyj-kater/ https://www.shipphotos.co.uk/ship/?ship=pilotine103 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:...

A beautiful day, climbing up the (not-so-well-rigged) pilot ladder and then the stairs of the accommodation towards the bridge.

This is the Ben Madigan pilot boat, one of the hard working fleet of Belfast Harbout pilot boats. ( I'm not sure but I believe this might be a Redbay Stormforce, built by Redbay boat builders at Cushendll. )
These fast, sturdy, boats have to ferry Belfast pilots out to large vessels coming in to Belfast harbour. Piloted vessels range from large tankers, bulk carriers, container ships, ferries and cruise liners, right down to barges and fishing boats. Not only this, Belfast Harbour pilots...

Over the past two years, RightShip has reviewed more than 21,000 PSC inspections, assessed over 2,500 incidents, and inspected over 4,600 vessels. This is in addition to the reviewing a large number of SIRE reports as part of the vetting process. Despite the industry’s efforts and campaigns to educate, we have observed an upward trend in deficiencies and non-conformities involving pilot ladders and arrangements. The data gathered from RightShip Inspections indicates that the pilot ladder...