Winter Edition of the BPC Pilotage Quarterly published

This what a normal work day looks like for a port pilot.
A 24 hour shift shown in 11 minutes.
Recorded in Santa Marta, Colombia.

This study presents a novel decision support process for a pilot dispatching problem in the St. Lawrence River. It integrates a comprehensive set of time-based performance measures, including working time, waiting time, and skill level differences, to optimize fairness and operational efficiency in pilot dispatching.

November 2019

Una nave cisterna, con l aiuto dei rimorchiatori, ormeggia in banchina.
A tanker, with the help of tugs, moors on the quay.

A marine pilot who sadly died after a ‘fall from a pilot ladder’ in the Humber Estuary has now been named. Video credit: BBC Look North/BBC News Hub

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

The Australian company Hart Marine specialises in building pilot and patrol boats of the highest quality.This is not surprising, as the owner's father, Mal Hart, was a harbour master and therefore very familiar with the requirements of a pilot boat.

Many thanks to Capt. Pilot Evan Simkus for the insight into the working day!

Here’s a cool video of the latest Interceptor 48 pilot boat we’ve launched for the Gdynia Pilots in Poland. We captured some nice alongside ship footage during the sea trials, and had a chance to test out our new drone ‘catch net’ on Thunder Child.