IMPA on Pilotage

Conversion work, designed and engineered by JMS Naval Architects, of Mystic, CT, has been completed of the former Oil Spill Response Vessel OSRV MAINE RESPONDER to a Pilot Station Vessel for United New York & New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association.

The 16.3-meter aluminium pilot boat includes features aimed at performance and crew safety: • Twin Caterpillar C18 engines (2 x 400 hp) • Traditional shaft and propeller system • Top speed of 25 knots, cruising at 22 knots • Air suspension seats, autopilot, and interceptor system • Heated decks, rails, and windows • Crew accommodation for six • Galley for two and diesel heating for cold-weather operation • 2 x 1300-liter fuel tanks for extended range “This is not just a boat. This is a...

Build year: 2015, Lenght overall: 12.0m, Beam overall: 3.0m, Draft (full load): 0.95, Engine: 1 Volvo Penta D6 330hk

In August 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Formosabulk Clement diverted to Brisbane, Queensland for crew change, to be completed to/from a launch via the combination pilot ladder. At the time, Queensland was the easiest jurisdiction in Australia for ships to conduct crew change due to the State’s extensive quarantine arrangements for transporting and accommodating seafarers.

The Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis has released Marine Safety Alert 05-21, to notify mariners to a potentially dangerous situation involving corrosion of the turntable pin on accommodation ladders.

These are the feelings which have been voiced by the crews I have been in contact with during pilotage operations these last few weeks.

We have heard this said about many keyworkers in the UK over the last couple of months. First it was the NHS, then care workers and social workers, then bus drivers, train operators, lorry drivers and the supermarkets.

Jeanerette, LA – November 14th, 2019: Shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered two new pilot boats to New Orleans-based operator Belle Chasse Marine Transportation, LLC (BCMT).

It has been shown that a majority (51%) of pilot ladders is secured by means of D-shackles, when secured at intermediate length. Previous research (Evans, 2020) has proven that this method has only about 50% of the strength of the pilot ladder when secured at full length (“double ended ladder”), or by means of the “endless-sling” method.