Maritime Pilot•Haluan Kapal

There are many things in both our everyday and professional lives which we take for granted and never question the origins of, an example of this might be the IMPA recommended ‘pilot mark or pilot line’, which is sometimes seen on the side of vessels indicating where a vessels freeboard exceeds 9 metres.

I have had the privilege of being at quite a number of meetings, conferences and seminars, sometimes representing The Netherlands, but mostly representing the Netherlands pilots. I have had many discussions about the role of pilots and pilot organisations, which lead me to write an article “What is the added value of pilotage?”, published in the February 2020 issue of Seaways.

Congratulation to Ahmed Sati for 8,000 moves!

Who knwos Zé Peixe? What makes Zé Peixe a rare species is the way he works: he swims to fetch the ship, while his colleagues use a support boat. And when he takes the ship out of the harbour, instead of returning by boat he jumps into the sea.

The European Tugowners Association in collaboration with the European Maritime Pilots Association has produced this informative video on efficient and safe towage operations. These guidelines address the main factors affecting the safety of harbour towage operations such as good communications between pilots, ship captains and tugmasters.

IMPA has published examples of best practice together with a letter from Capt. Simon Pelletier, President of IMPA.

The good old times: 1940. Found on YouTube. Created by "British Pathé" Titles read: "PILOT AHOY! A PATHETONE SPECIAL" New York, United States of America. Good aerial views of dozens of merchant ships entering New York's harbour. Various shots of life aboard a New York pilot cutter. The pilot is rowed out to a merchant ship, goes aboard and then is picked up again. Apprentice pilots on board a training ship scrub the decks, lower a rowing boat over the side and study charts with a senior...

The debate is whether highly skilled pilots could have successfully overcome the recent Boeing 737 MAX computer deficiencies. Will this question eventually be relevant to harbor pilot skills?

The Finnish special vessel "Meri" collided with Holtenau High Bridge (Holtenauer Hochbrücke) over the Kiel Canal early on 30 Nov 2022 morning at around 4.37 am.