Article

Associated British Ports (ABP) has welcomed the first of nine new pilot launch vessels from Goodchild Marine Services.

published on 22 July 2021 - 167 -

Show comment section |

Earlier this year ABP announced an investment of around £9 million to build nine new pilot boats. These vessels were ordered from Goodchild Marine Services Limited and are being built in Norfolk along with much of the supply chain coming from East Anglian suppliers.

The first pilot boat received a warm welcome on its arrival at the Port of Grimsby. Named the OUSE and is the first of five which will be delivered to ABP Humber. Three vessels will be heading to ABP Southampton in 2022 and one to ABP South Wales in 2023.

All nine vessels boast improved fuel efficiency, along with Ouse being the first pilot boat built and enter service in the UK to be fitted with an IMO Tier III compliant engine complete with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). These MAN engines supplied by PME Group of Plymouth help to reduce emissions by using of the latest technology thus minimising the impact on the environment.

Many other features help improve the comfort and safety of those onboard. The Man Overboard Recovery Platform is a standard fit on all Goodchild Marine pilot vessels, air conditioning, suspension seating and a resiliently mounted wheelhouse all act to reduce vibration, impact, and noise when at sea. Additionally, the wave piercing hull design, adds to what makes these ORC pilot boats so comfortable, fuel efficient and above all highly effective in coming alongside and breaking away from ships for a safe pilot transfer.

Mike McCartain, ABP’s Group Director for Safety, Engineering and Marine said;

“We are delighted with our new ‘Orc’ Pilot Boat vessel from Goodchild Marine. The outstanding build quality, safety and environmental features are the hallmark of this superb British boat building company. This vessel is the second in our modernised ABP fleet, and we very much look forward to our next eight boats over the next few years.’

Stephen Pierce, General Manager Goodchild Marine Services Limited, said:

“Our aim is to deliver the highest quality pilot boats, which provide a safe, comfortable, reliable and efficient vessel. This ensures the best possible working space for the boat crews, pilots and the maintainers.”

Goodchild Marine Services Ltd

Pilot Boats

What's your opinion on this?

Video Port Tampa Pilot Gets Picked Up

published on 2 September 2022

Article Metal Shark Delivers 55-Foot Pilot Boat To Pascagoula Pilots

published on 24 November 2021

Boat builder Metal Shark has delivered a 55’ x 17’ welded aluminum pilot boat to the Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association in Mississippi.

Article New pilot boat "Stainsby" for PD Port (Teeport, UK)

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 4 November 2020

It will replace the "Coatham" pilot vessel which will now find a new home at the Port of Tyne after racking up 800,000 miles servicing the River Tees over a 20-year period.

Video M Klassen Pilot boat MILO (Netherlands)

published on 26 November 2025

Always great to see the vessels of the Dutch Pilot Association perform so perfect whith the ultra strong fender systems of Poly Marine Fender Systems

Article Humphree AB awarded best motion controls supplier 2020 by Baird Maritime

published on 11 February 2021

Humphree motion control systems appear on these pages almost weekly. Established 19 years ago by a group of very experienced Swedish marine engineers, the company has made a distinguished name for its products in the comparatively short time since.

Video Bulker leaving Indira Docks, India

published on 30 May 2022

Video by Capt Amit Kumar Singh, Marine Pilot / Port Captain

Risk analysis of collision accidents during underway STS berthing maneuver through integrating fault tree analysis (FTA) into Bayesian network (BN)

Article Risk analysis of collision accidents during underway STS berthing maneuver through integrating fault tree analysis (FTA) into Bayesian network (BN)

by Capt. Mustafa Sökükcü and Cenk Sakar - published on 3 May 2023

This research paper could be useful tool for marine pilots as well during the risk analysis of STS manoeuvrings. In light of the findings of the research, STS manoeuvres may be effectively planned in order to improve overall safety and avoid the unexpected incidents. On the other hand, there is a dearth of literature on STS operation. As a result, this work has a significant input on the current literature.

Video Huge ship crane collapses during tests in the port of Rostock, Germany

published on 3 May 2020

Rostock; 02.05.2020: Actually, the special ship with the giant heavy-lift crane crane, which was designed for over 5,000 tons load capacity, was supposed to be delivered in the next few days. During final tests the crane broke off in the afternoon of May 2. Four people were injured in the accident. This is the second accident with Liebherr cranes this year in the Rostock overseas port. Already in February this year two cranes were reported to have fallen into the water during loading....

Article Human Error in Pilotage Operations

published on 3 December 2024

This article was first published back in September 2021: Pilotage operations require close interaction between human and machines. This complex sociotechnical system is necessary to safely and efficiently maneuver a vessel in constrained waters.

Article Russian Marine Pilot (61) killed in accident on 14 March 2021

by Frank Diegel - published on 17 March 2021

In Novorossiysk (Russia, Black Sea), a marine pilot died during a pilot transfer and an investigation has been launched. The incident occurred on the evening of 14 March at about 21:40.