Ship Report Podcasts: Pilot boats - a special breed

SINGAPORE — One person was taken to hospital after a small boat caught fire off Seraya Buoy, located in the waters off Singapore's south-west coast, on Monday (Sept 4) afternoon.

Marine pilot boats transfers marine pilots between port facilities and large commercial ships requiring compulsory navigation assistance. The Port Authority of Jamaica manages and regulates pilotage operations across the island's harbours. Essential for ensuring safe maneuvering and docking in coastal waters and busy shipping lanes. 00:00-Marine Pilot Boat in Kingston Harbour 01:59-Marine Pilot Boat in Kingston Harbour 04:26-Outro https://www.facebook.com/people/Naftal-Shipspotting/...

Taken from aboard the MS Westcott Pilot Boat this is the Algoma Harvester receiving mail on the Detroit River as they head downbound in the early evening hours of September 2nd, 2022
I had just been in Cleveland OH for the christening of the Mark W Barker the newest ship for the Interlake Steamship Company and left there on the 2nd to go to Toledo and see the National Museum of the Great Lakes and then I continued on to Detroit where I made this stop at the JW Westcott Company and met up...

pilot boat general cargo ship seaman captain marine

Fathom Safety now offers an online course on Pilot Ladder Training

Look at Life - Signposts of the Sea (1963)
Narrated by Tim Turner

Wind was blowing strong from the NE and the waves were becoming bigger and bigger by the time we reach a new client.
Crew didn't consider the rolling effect about to happen while changing heading in order to give lee when they prepared pilot ladder, so the requested 1.5m above the water was not that good.
I decided to abort and to give the vessel the chance to shorten it. In the next attempt they did it right and I was able to board safe

Chesapeake Bay pilots guide massive cargo ships safely through the Bay's channels every day, but boarding them on a ladder attached to a moving ship is nothing short of breathtaking. Watch the video from a retired Bay Pilot.