Pilot Boat Draco (Netherlands)

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).

In early December, just as I was starting to get into ship spotting, I saw a couple of vessels headed up river towards Philly. One of them, the Cielo di Iyo met with the harbor pilot right as I had my drone up. I was able to capture the Pilot coming to meet the vessel and CLIMBING the ladder to get on board just before she passed beneath the Walt Whitman Bridge.

Pilot boarding Spirit of Tasmania ship from Pilot Boat- Epic scene as in movies
#Spirit of Tasmania
#Bass strait channel

Mississippi River Pilot transfer off of south bound ship in the Mississippi River below New Orleans to a Pilot Boat. Pilots climb down rope ladder onto the top of the Pilot Boat while both boats are underway.

Rotorcraft Pro gives an inside look at Brim Aviation's Columbia River Bar Pilots helicopter ops. CRBP uses an AW109SP to hoist ship captains onto ships crossing the dangerous river bar in Astoria, OR. This is part of a written/photo feature in the September 2015 issue of Rotorcraft Pro Magazine.

SAMMON Lecturing Video describing
"Effect of Drift Force and unstable moment"
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SAMMON - the IDEAL tool to identify manoeuvring capabilities of a ship - SAMMON - learning the EFFECTIVE way

Some ship handlers today use electronic instruments from start to finish and these ships usually have powerful engines and thrusters and an almost unlimited number of personnel on the bridge.