Pilot Boat Approaching in Tallin Estonia Pilot OnBoard

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 

We were lucky to come across the Tom Crean whilst offshore putting some hours on the Interceptor 60 pilot P&O Sahm. Taking the opportunity to undertake some alongside handling trials, we captured some cool footage of Tom Crean pushing through the waves.

On Wednesday, January 24, 2018, the #PortAuthorityJa hosted a Naming & Commissioning Service for #Kingston1 and #Kingston2, two new pilot boats for the service of Jamaica. The new boats replace older, undersized and malfunctioning ones, and is part of ongoing meaningful improvements to maritime operations at at our ports island-wide! Here are highlights, courtesy of #WeirzWorldMedia!

The Los Angeles Pilot Service ordered two customized 56′ Camarc Design pilot boats (P/B) built by Vigor Industrial at their Vancouver, WA facility, located on the northern side of the Columbia River. The LA Pilot Service took delivery of the P/B Angels Pilot and Angels Navigator at Vigor’s shipyard on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon in early October.

Sanmar Shipyards has signed six vessel contracts together totalling US$33.46 million with the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) in Pakistan for four high-performance state-of-the-art tugboats and two pilot boats. The tugs are scheduled to be delivered in 12 months and the pilot boats in 10.

During a sea survival training, the 275 Newton standard issue of the Dutch pilots was put to the test in combination with a small backpack.

VESSEL REVIEW - by Baird Maritime
Seattle, Washington-based boatbuilder Snow and Company has handed over a new all-aluminium monohull pilot boat to the San Francisco Bar Pilots of California.

It takes all sorts of roles to ensure safe and successful operations at Aberdeen Harbour. Meet Finn, a Marine Pilot, and find out why he enjoys working at the port...

“The world of hydrography is going digital and the S-100 standard is an essential component of that move.” See how the Canadian Hydrographic Service has led Canada to become one of the first countries in the world to start using the S-100 standard, and how implementing these standards will benefit Canadians through increased safe navigation in Canadian waters. S-100 Producer: http://www.charts.gc.ca/data-gestion/index-eng.html#S100 chsinfo@dfo-mpo.gc.ca S-100 Cloud: https://www....

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.