Deputy Harbour Master/Pilot

Short presentation of the steamship S/S Orion

Maritime pilots trace the roots of their profession back to the ancient Greeks and Romans when incoming ship captains employed experienced local fisherman to guide their merchant vessels safely into port. It’s a legacy of skill, strength, and sharp wits, and our Houston Pilots (“Pilots”) have been meeting vessels at Galveston’s bar to carry on these proud traditions for just shy of 100 years.

Pilot boat approaches Carnival Splendor off the coast of Victoria, Canada

The hazards of Pilot boarding
Throughout 2016, the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) held a safety campaign focused upon the standard of pilot ladders and associated equipment. CHIRP supported this campaign and received many reports on the subject.
This first report describes issues concerning pilot access near
the non-parallel ends of a ship, and use of a retractable platform.

Deadline: 15th June 2021

Full title: "The Digital Transformation of Canadian Hydrographic Offices, and the Corresponding Contributions to Seabed 2030 and Lakebed 2030"
Presented at the Lakebed 2030 Conference in 2021
Get involved at Lakebed2030.org

Pilot Boat
Efferent Savior from the album The Great Attractor
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/robert-day/1805196482
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07CKMTKJ1?ccs_id=d7e47f91-4f74-4a77-9696-65fcae95e861

From that moment on I have been keeping a tally of the non compliant boarding arrangements I see in front of me on a daily base, and off course I participate in the annual safety campaign, conducted by IMPA each october.

Here's the full video of recent sea trials with our two pilot boats including storm Ciara, three boats together and some boarding runs. Its quite an interesting little video with some great footage.

These are images that no one wants to see. How can people take such a risk and behave so unprofessionally? Purely a matter of luck whether you come home again in the evening!