Trainee Pilot – Sheerness/Medway UK

Shipping Australia is delighted to welcome the Australasian Marine Pilots Institute as our newest corporate associate member

Ever wonder what it would be like to work on a Tugboat? Come along a for glimpse of one day at work in New York Harbor.

Look at Life Vol 01 Transport Pilot Aboard 1963
The story of Britain's pilotage services.

"We want Ports Authorities to Prioritise the Safety of Maritime Pilots"

In this interview, the President of the African Maritime Pilots Association (AMPA), Captain Mohamed Rafouk who is based in Morocco speaks on how maritime pilots in Africa have coped since the outbreak. He also talks of their interactions with Port Authorities and what their expectations are.

The maritime industry has long been a domain of tradition, resilience, and technical excellence. But if we look at its human makeup, particularly with regards to maritime pilotage, one question glares us in the face with uncomfortable clearness: where are the women?

The pilots say that Port Tampa Bay leadership is leaning on them to change policies in ways they say would be less safe.

It is frequently a Maritime requirement for a ship to employ and have onboard, a Ships Pilot when entering port. His/ her presence will greatly enhance the safe docking of a vessel into port, harbor or to an anchorage.

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.

River Bann pilots transfer from Athos to pilot vessel Ulidia at Barmouth, River Bann. N. Ireland