Ship Report Podcasts: Pilot boats - a special breed

03.06.2023 Pilot boat docks at historic steam icebreaker Szczecin, for Kiel Canal Lock Brunsbüttel

Pilot cutters are used to take pilots between the three pilot stations (at Gravesend, Harwich and Ramsgate) and ships entering or leaving the Port of London.
Three dedicated pilot cutters Patrol, Guide and our hybrid Leader are based at Gravesend. The six cutters used at Ramsgate are operated by a Estuary Services Limited, which is jointly owned by the PLA and Medway Ports Ltd.

Dublin Port Company (DPC) has completed a successful first round trial using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a low-carbon biofuel produced from waste material that can be used as a direct replacement for conventional marine diesel, in one of its Pilot Boats.

ER88 Sea Trials - 16m Pilot Boat: MED-P16

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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.

Since 2022, there is a solution in Germany that helps pilots to report defects in pilot ladders or pilot transfer arrangements quickly and easily. The apps are available for Android & iOS.

Exemplary manoeuvre: The pilot should always walk on the side of the pilot boat facing away from the vessel. This prevents the pilot from being trapped between the two vessels in the event of a fall into the water.

The vessel "ELSE" didn't stopped at the pilot station and tried to enter the closed lock without a pilot.
Following the crash on 29.08.2020, the official investigations into the accident are now beginning on site.