Podcast: Marine pilot support staff help make it all happen

We bid farewell to our Otaru marine pilot just outside Otaru Harbor, Japan. The crew of the pilot tug were particularly fastidious about not marking up the side of the Viking Orion during the operations, spraying the interface with water, even though that might have made the transfer more hazardous for the pilot. From the Viking Orion, October 2024

From the life and work of a tugboat captain

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.

The IMPA has published on 30th June 2020 a letter about crew exchange in times of corona. Read the letter here:

The new pilot boat "Buran" has been delivered to Poseidon Sea Pilots of Queensland, Australia.

A cargo ship is guided into Port by the Pilot boat on a breezy February morning- Filmed with a Sony RX10 Mk iv
Ship - Fast Sim
Port- Shoreham

One of our clients in Europe is looking for a small Pilot Boat (35-36 ft.) to buy.

Here’s a cool little video of the 2nd Interceptor 60 ‘Rubban’ built for DP World undergoing alongside ship handling sea trials, with some lovely drone footage of the container ship ‘BG Ireland’ as well.

Pilots are expert ship handlers who possess detailed knowledge of local waterways. They are transported by high speed "Pilot Boat" or helicopter from shore to an inbound ship and from an outbound ship back ashore. Most ports have compulsory pilotage.