Hualien port pilot boat No. 41101

As a British supplier of driveline and propulsion solutions into the UK market, MIT was delighted to be involved in the 9 million pound investment into the industry by Associated British Ports (ABP) for a fleet of new pilot vessels to be built and supplied by Goodchild Marine Services Limited.

Many consider the Bristol Channel pilot cutter to be the finest sailing boat design ever. Fast, seaworthy and beautiful to behold, the pilot cutter is the perfect combination of form and function - a thoroughbred perfectly adapted to a life in one of the Britain's most treacherous stretches of water. Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe explores the life of the pilots and sails a perfectly restored cutter to find out just what drove these men and their wonderful machines.

Rodman 41, es el último modelo de embarcaciones de prácticos diseñado y construido por Rodman. Con 12 metros de eslora el Rodman 41, se convierte en el barco de prácticos más competitivo y con mejores prestaciones del mercado. Equipado con todo lo necesario para realizar trabajos y servicios de puerto, donde se le requiera, de manera inmediata.

Editors note:
Pilot Boat "Döse" built by A&R

Conference Paper (PDF) by ResearchGate: International Seminar on Safety and Security of Autonomous Vessels (ISSAV) and European STAMP Workshop and Conference (ESWC) 2019, At Helsinki, Finland

Comment and photos by Reshma Nilofer Naha
India's first female Marine Pilot (Kalkata Port Trust)

A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, bar pilot, or simply pilot, is a sailor who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. They are navigational experts possessing knowledge of the particular waterway such as its depth, currents, and hazards.

The Port of Townsville, northern Australia’s largest multi-cargo port, is expanding its fleet of pilot boats to four.

The Port has awarded Hart Marine a $3 million contract to build a 17.3m ORC vessel that is due for delivery later in 2020. The new high-tech vessel will be slightly longer but have the same design features as the PV Osprey which was delivered by Hart Marine in late 2017.

It has been shown that a majority (51%) of pilot ladders is secured by means of D-shackles, when secured at intermediate length. Previous research (Evans, 2020) has proven that this method has only about 50% of the strength of the pilot ladder when secured at full length (“double ended ladder”), or by means of the “endless-sling” method.