Marine Pilot

Today a look at a special vessel that is commonly seen on the Astoria waterfront: the pilot boat that takes pilots to and from passing ships.

The Pacific Pilotage Authority says: "There is a common misunderstanding amongst vessel operators that vessels built prior to 2012 are exempt from some of the requirements for pilot transfer arrangements. This is incorrect...".

Boat to boat Pilot transfer, to the Pilot Vessel Golden Gate, under the Golden Gate Bridge.

"A performance assessment tool for maritime pilotage operations" - by Jørgen Ernstsen, Norway
When the ship is approaching or leaving a port, a local navigational expert, the pilot, is often provided for assisting the bridge team to safely and efficiently navigate the littoral waters.

Bulk Carrier sailing from Seaforth Dock through Gladstone Lock into The River Mersey

Unberthing NBCT ,Penang, Malaysia.
#marinepilot #shiphandling #manoeuvre #port #seaman #tug #ship #marine

PILOTTENDER GRODEN (MMSI: 211545300). Build by Abeking & Rasmussen, Germany

A handy and simple tool to determine in a minimum time what is really needed as tug assistance, is the Bollard Pull Calculator which calculates in an approximate way the total required tug power for ships in various conditions of wind and current. This tool can be loaded as an app on the smart phone.