At the A&R shipyard in Germany, the successful principle of SWATH boats was further developed in 2013: The SWASH principle allows sea-going, smaller and more economical boats.

SWATH and SWASH are interesting technologies that allow a vessel to sail much more calmly in high waves. A stable and calm position of the ship is especially important for pilot boarding.

Here's a nice little video of sea trials during the recent unseasonal storm we had last month, which produced some pretty rough conditions at the entrance to Cork Harbour. We managed to capture some nice footage of the Barracuda and Thunder Child II on the day.

MPA 7 and MPA 8 are our latest 15m Pilot Boat built for the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore.

It will replace the "Coatham" pilot vessel which will now find a new home at the Port of Tyne after racking up 800,000 miles servicing the River Tees over a 20-year period.

WWW.LOODSBOOT.EU Newly revised Smit-MAN marine diesel aboard the Dutch Pilot Boat "Castor" taken to sea for trials. De oude loodsboot Castor van Rotterdam naar Delfzijl om daar het EemsDollard havenfestival 2008 bij te wonen. De eerste keer dat de onlangs gereviseerde hoofdmotor draaide! WWW.LOODSBOOT.EU

"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.

Container ship MADRID TRADER ran aground in fairway while entering Mar del Plata Port, Argentina, at around 1830 UTC Jan 20, with pilot on board.