Marine Pilot, Port of Cape Preston

On April 20, 2026, the Columbia River Bar Pilots conducted a MOB drill with the U.S. Coast Guard Station Astoria.

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.

Lack of standard user interfaces across bridge equipment is a major concern for maritime safety. Pilots are in a unique position, as they are constantly exposed to new and differing bridge working environments, equipment, interface designs and combinations of systems. As pilots face this problem throughout every shift they need to put in considerable effort to adjust their work to the many user interfaces they meet.

In this issue:
- Feauture Article - Performance Standards for Marine Simulation
- Presidents Report
- The Changes in Piloting over 18 years
- Facts & Furphies about Portable Pilot Units

Compilation video of the best rough weather sea trial moments from 2009-2013 by Safehaven Marine

Cost: £600k Built in 2007 Current Owners: Milford Haven Port Authority Outline build design: Camarc Ltd Built by: Mainstay Marine Solutions Ltd Dimensions Length OA (inc fender). 19.75 metres Length (moulded) 18.65 metres Length Waterline 17.00 metres Beam OA (inc fender) 5.70 metres Beam (moulded) 5.25 metres Draught (approx) 1.50 metres Particulars: Min service life: 15 years. Vessel impacts: 1000 impacts per annum Significant wave height: 5m Typical duty cycle: 1000-3000 hour per year....

Winners of the 2021 MSC Maritime Art Prize have been announced in front of an international audience via a live-streamed event at Dockland’s iconic Mission to Seafarers Victoria (MtSV).

This is a video I had captured off U.S Coast from a merchant vessel as the Pilot was transferred from our Ship to Shore via Helicopter.
All recordings were done using N8 (unbelievable clarity!)