New pilot boats christened at Port of Gdańsk

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.

River Mersey Pilot Boat going slowly inbound on the river before turning and heading northbound again.

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

Svitzer, A.P. Moller - Maersk’s world leading towage operator, today unveiled plans to introduce the world’s first fuel cell tug boat for harbour towage operations.

During a meeting on 4 December 2024, the International Hydrographic Organization Nautical
Information Provision Work Group (IHO NIPWG) held a vote on the new Guide for Nautical
Data 2.1. The guide was unanimously endorsed.

The United Kingdom Maritime Pilots' Association (UKMPA) has all been inundated with CV19 communications from all manner of sources in the last few weeks. Here is a condensed collection of information from the UKMPA.

IMPA has just released the results of the annual IMPA safety campaign, please have a look at the document.

Issues like the Covid 19 crisis and the moves towards increased autonomy appear to be driving a renewed interest in Shore Based Pilotage (SBP), nowadays often called Remote Pilotage.

Recently, Svitzer took an important step towards strengthening its presence in Africa by signing a five-year contract with Nacala Logistics in Mozambique for harbour towage, occasional pilot transfer and potential salvage work in the port of Nacala. At the same time, Svitzer also secured a five-year extension of its current contract with Egyptian LNG assisting the land-based Idku LNG plant with four tugs, two mooring boats and one pilot boat.

Good news for pilot safety: As one of the leading shipping companies, MAERSK is now targeting the notorious "trapdoor arrangements". A corresponding notification to all the company's ships concerned was made public in the last few days.