Permanent Part Time Master - Marine Pilot Transfer Vessel (Mackay/Australia)

From the life and work of a tugboat captain

In this episode, we are joined by Thijs Hoff, a maritime pilot with over 15 years of experience at sea and 4 years as Maritime pilot. Thijs will take us through the 'how' of becoming a maritime pilot, offering a detailed look at the educational pathways, skills, and work-life balance that come with the role.

We had an amazing opportunity to go on a pilot boat with Captain Erick Gallagher and Captain Danny Gallagher, where we got a peek into their exciting jobs! Pilot boats transport maritime pilots between land and inbound or outbound ships. Video by bluewater.org, Blue Water Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

The term pilot is defined as, “a person who is qualified and usually licensed to conduct a ship into and out of a port or in specified waters.” The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 states that, “a pilot is any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof.”

Register your pilot or embarkation ladder today and receive a free 30 months mandatory load test, when the ladders been delivered to one of our factories in Rotterdam, Singapore, New Castle UK or Houston Texas.

Raw footage of a an offshore Pilot transfer.
More pictures and an occasional video can be found at
https://instagram.com/sea_weathered?igshid=3qbu808ioyqf

9 December 2019 - 'APL Mexico City' hits adrift and rams port crane in Antwerp.
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Port operations, whether these are being performed on water or on land, are often not without risk. Pilots boarding a ship while sailing, navigating through narrow passages, collision avoidance with other smaller or larger vessels, discharging and moving cargo on land, walking between container handling equipment and trucks…

Although it cannot be said that ship piloting is the world’s oldest profession, most maritime experts do agree that pilotage does date back to antiquity.

On August 5, 2020 at approximately 10:30 pm, Sandy Hook Pilot Captain Timothy M. Murray was involved in an incident while boarding a tanker vessel inbound to the Port of New York & New Jersey. He sustained injuries after falling from a pilot ladder and was evacuated to a local hospital where his injuries proved to be fatal.