Junior Marine Pilot – Level 3

A man in his own element. Meet Pilot Fabio Fontes, the oldest maritime pilot in activity at 84.

Safehaven Marine have launched ‘Ederra 6’ a new Interceptor 48 pilot boat for the MVD Pilots Association in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Safehaven Marine, pilot boat specialist builders in Ireland have launched a new Interceptor 48 pilot boat for the Port of Coruna in Northern Spain. ‘Practicos Coruna Ochno’ is powered by a pair of Volvo D13 500hp continuously rated engines and ZF Gearboxes. Propulsion is by conventional sterngear turning 28” propellers giving her a 25kts continuous operational speed. Capable of carrying 7 pilots and crew all on shock mitigation seating comfortably in her spacious fully lined cabin with extremely low noise levels of 73db recorded.

Puget Sound Pilots (PSP), the organization representing the elite mariners required by law to guide ships in and out of Puget Sound, has established a formal maternity policy. The historic June vote means that PSP is the first pilot association in the U.S. to implement a dedicated maternity plan for member pilots.

A portable pilot unit (PPU) is a portable navigation aid system designed specifically for ship pilots, such as the SIRIUS series from TRENZ in Germany (www.trenz-ppu.com).

Pilot's boat port of Patras

Pilot Training requirements were reviewed afer the ship hit the seabed amd tugs damaged in Bluff Harbor.
South Port in Bluff has accepted the Transport Accident Investigation Commission's recommendation and reviewed its systems.

The pilot boat next to the ship after dropping off the Harbour Pilot

A harbor pilot has the difficult job of bringing ships into port. A candidate for Albay Yacht Club has invited me to document the process. I went with Jud, the harbor pilot.

Article originally published in SWZ|Maritime September 2022

Through the years, the Dutch Pilots have developed a system of selection, initial education and continual professional training. What is the current state of affairs?