Marine Pilot, Auriga Pilots (Reef)

June 21, 2021

The following article appeared in AIMPA magazine number 2 about the strength and testing of pilot ladders : There is much more information about pilot ladders in the AIMPA magazine, second issue, if you wish to read more you can download a copy at the bottom of this post.

South Australian port operator Flinders Ports has expanded its fleet of harbour services vessels with the recent acquisition of a newbuild pilot boat constructed by Hart Marine in the neighbouring state of Victoria.

Impressive pictures from Colombia: MV Malcom arrived on June the 20th carrying the first wind generators for the "Guajira 1" project.

Do you ever leave the harbour to get on a vessel you will guide along without a ritual? Whatever we trust in, whatever the rituals or traditions you Marine Pilots have - when you board your pilot boats, climb the ladders, get the vessels through the harbour - keep them and cherish them, they are good and they are important.

She was the talk of the town and now she is gone till the next time. The Navios Unite, as she is called, is 1,100' long and 140' wide. That is 8' longer than a Nimitz class aircraft carrier and 6' wider at the waterline. The ship is so wide, it requires two pilots to transit. While in the top 5, it isn't the largest ship of any type to ever transit the river, but it is the largest container ship to do so.

Footage filmed by DFS Williams on the Edmund Gardner pilot ship 1968-69.
The Edmund Gardner is now the largest object in National Museums Liverpool's collections and can be seen in dry dock opposite Merseyside maritime museum. Find out more about it here:
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/collections/edmundgardner/

Clear statements from Fremantle Pilots and Fremantle Ports to ensure the safety of pilot transfers.

High water is necessary for salvage - 1 p.m. is the earliest possible start for the next salvage attempt of the 400-metre-long vessel.