Marine Pilot - Esperance

A more unique angle regarding freighter departures; I was able to film the routine disembarking of one of our local ship captains and officers after piloting Solina out of the harbor. This is a required procedure, as per US Maritime Laws, all international freighters must be piloted in and out of a US harbor by a US Captain. Here we have out local pilot vessel Sea Bear running up alongside the Solina to allow the two officers to depart the freighter before she heads out across Lake Superior

The Southern Ports Authority of Western Australia recently welcomed a new pilot boat into service.
Built by Hart Marine of Victoria, the boat has been named Wardan after the sea water off Wardandi Country, where it will also primarily operate.

Experiences from Australia: No two days are the same for a marine pilot in a busy port such as Esperance, but Mr MacAdie wouldn’t have it any other way.

When it came time to replace their 50-year-old station vessel New York, the Sandy Hook Pilots Association thought long and hard, weighing their options to determine the best possible solution.

This video complements the earlier demonstration of wind effect on straight track and shows now wind effect on turning circles. It can be seen that during a turn under strong wind the ship reduces turning when it comes close to equilibrium on straight track - if the Wind-to-ship speed ratio is big enough then the ship even goes straight instead of turning. This is shown for three samples for Head, Stern wind and Beam wind. The turning can be increased if the ratio of Wind speed-to-ship...

Here’s a cool little video of the 12.5m Barracuda SV we have just launched out on her rough weather sea trials recently, with some great Arial drone footage of her going through some fairly big breaking seas offshore.
Built for ‘Future Defence’ in the USA she is designed for search & rescue and coastal patrol duties. She is fully self-righting, able to recover if capsized by a large breaking sea and capable of all-weather operations. Powered by a pair of Caterpillar C8.7 650hp engines, ZF...

A Port Otago deckhand was seriously injured in a workplace fall yesterday afternoon.

Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders said the deckhand on a pilot boat was preparing a ladder to allow a maritime pilot to climb aboard an oil tanker.

The Association of Maryland Pilots took delivery of its fourth Chesapeake class launch from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation.

Since the Chesapeake class pilot boat was introduced by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard in 2003, 22 have been delivered to 12 pilot associations throughout the United States.

It’s my first voyage taking over solo watch as a navigating officer – from bridge commands to monitoring traffic and weather, every second counts. Once we arrive in Ningbo, it’s straight into cargo operations, intense mooring work, and pilotage.