Port Tampa Pilot Gets Picked Up

From Türkiye to St. John’s, to St. Kitts… and finally Antigua & Barbuda. A journey shaped by effort, endurance, and trust. A 15-meter pilot boat, successfully delivered to the Caribbean, reaching the Antigua Barbuda Port Authority safely after navigating seas that test both vessel and crew. Meet Chief Sam. Built in collaboration with @planetboaat, this is not just another boat. A testament to what happens when experience, engineering, and the right material come together. Crafted in HDPE,...

SWATH and SWASH are interesting technologies that allow a vessel to sail much more calmly in high waves. A stable and calm position of the ship is especially important for pilot boarding.

Alabama’s Mobile Bar Pilots has awarded Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding of Somerset, Massachusetts, a contract for a new 53-foot (16-metre) pilot boat.

Pilot Boats can be inspected in Finland. Price: € 590,000 each (new price approx. € 1,300,000 each).
They have been overhauled there and will be sold with a new shipyard guarantee on shipbuilding. IMCA MISW report is available

The desire to improve efficiency and crew comfort has resulted in a new approach to hull design. Built from the ground up this new Pilot Boat design utilises an Extra Long Waterline (XLW) to maximise the waterline length.

Look at Life - City of Sailors - Portsmouth - 1965
Portsmouth is no longer the sea-faring city it once was; this film from the Documentary Series "Look At Life" Volume 5 - Cultural Heritage in 1965 looks at its changing face.

Most pilot embarkations and disembarkations around the world, are still carried out using a traditional pilot ladder, consisting of wooden steps supported and secured by side ropes.

Topic: Technical or human error?
Ed Verbeek already published this interesting article about the proportion of human to technical errors on LinkedIn last week.

I decided to show the typical happenings when a saltwater freighter arrives Duluth. Most of the time they go to anchor and wait for the Elevator dock. The Pilot Boat brings out the Great Lakes Pilot to sail the ship into the port and to the dock. This vessel arrived early Sunday morning, went to anchor until mid afternoon. They are loading grain at the CHS Elevator in Superor.

Vessel Review by BairdMaritime.com. The Pilot boat was build by Safehaven Marine.