Deep Sea Pilot (Master)

Text and photos by Alex Lang, retired pilot, pilot for 28 years in New Zealand and Australia.

A beautiful day, climbing up the (not-so-well-rigged) pilot ladder and then the stairs of the accommodation towards the bridge.

In Germany a total of 16 new corona cases were reported on Friday morning. Ten of them on the two Rostock Aida ships, six more in Schwerin.

Puget Sound Pilots appointed a new executive director, Charles Costanzo, formerly general counsel and Pacific region vice president for American Waterways Operators (AWO).

It has been 1 month since the 1st case of coronavirus in the country. All airports were shut down, and mandatory confinement was issued 10 days ago. Nevertheless, Maritime shipping must continue (except for tourist related). The means that us pilots must continue with our duties despite the risks involved with all the ships' crews arriving from different countries. So we need to take all safety measures possible.
This particular maneuver was unberthing a chemical tanker, in loaded...

Just caught pilot launch Griffiths finishing a MOB drill and goes home to Queenscliff.
For a tour over Griffiths see this video https://youtu.be/rAnG87kd9Uw
Ship spotting at Point Lonsdale and other water activities by Wally on Water.

August 2022, tanker Thun London and Foyle Leader pilot vessel. www.nightskyhunter.com

In this eye-opening episode of Sea Views, host Julia Gosling speaks with Captain Andrew Moll (Chief Inspector, UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch), Ari Palmers (Senior Maritime Pilot, Netherlands), and Adam Parnell (Director, CHIRP Maritime) to confront the serious dangers faced by maritime pilots — especially during pilot transfers, where fatality rates remain alarmingly high.

The Port of Klaipeda in Lithuania has placed an order for two pilot boats in a series to be built by Estonia-based Baltic Workboats. The contract for the vessels has an estimated value of €6.5 million (US$7 million).