Opinion Bow Truster Effect on Ship's Headway

by Capt. Hugues Cauvier - published on 14 July 2022

When the bow thruster has been in operation for a while, pilots often notice that the ship not only turns but also gains speed. But why is this? Opinion by Capt. Hugues Cauvier.

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Opinion A Corrected Version on Positioning of Pivot Point

by Capt. Santosha K. Nayak - published on 18 November 2020

Understanding the fundamentals of the pivot point is highly required for understanding the alteration of the courses. Pivot point is an imaginary point on the vessel which turns on a circular path on the perimeter of vessel’s turning circle when the vessel makes a turn. The knowledge about the position of the pivot point in a manoeuvring situation provides the ship handler with the information on the geometry of motion of the ship.

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Opinion Scientific Fact: The ‘traditional’ understanding of the ship’s pivot point is wrong!

by Tim Cummins, Harbour Pilot, Portsmouth International Port - published on 9 July 2020

In fact, the pivot point that we “see” is a trick of the eye, it looks like the ship is rotating about this point but in fact it is elsewhere, a point that you cannot see.

Related content

Video Bow thruster effect on ship's headway 1

by Capt. Hugues Cauvier - published on 14 July 2022

What is causing the forward motion of a stopped vessel using continous bow thruster action?
by Capt. H. Cauvier

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Video Hugues Cauvier: Understanding the ship's pivot point (complete video)

by Capt. Hugues Cauvier - published on 3 September 2024

This video has been recut and edited by the creator Hugues Cauvier. Previously there were three episodes, which have now been combined into one.

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Video How to Launch a Pilot Boat–Behind the Scenes at Point Hope Shipyard

published on 20 June 2025

Welcome to Point Hope Shipyard in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. In this video, I follow the float off of the Pacific Navigator, a hardworking pilot boat that serves the Port of Victoria and Ogden Point. We watch as the vessel is pulled along the marine railway, rotated on the turntable, and positioned onto the cradle. Once secured, the cradle lowers to float-off depth, and the Pacific Navigator fires up her engines for a short harbour spin before returning to duty. Some segments,...

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Article Report: Securing of pilot ladders at intermediate lengths – testing

by nc2 Engineering Consultancy - University of Southhampton - published on 28 July 2023

Report by nC2 Engineering Consultancy at the University of Southampton on behalf of the International Maritime Pilots' Association (IMPA) to investigate the effectiveness and impact of different methods of securing pilot ladders in medium lengths in a laboratory-based project.

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Article Study on European maritime pilots: Working unusual hours and its relationship to job satisfaction

published on 1 October 2025

This article was published some time ago but is still up to date: The study focuses on maritime pilotage in seven European countries and analyzes the level of job satisfaction and its predictors.

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Video Wind Impact on Ships Turning Motion

published on 20 January 2021

This video complements the earlier demonstration of wind effect on straight track and shows now wind effect on turning circles. It can be seen that during a turn under strong wind the ship reduces turning when it comes close to equilibrium on straight track - if the Wind-to-ship speed ratio is big enough then the ship even goes straight instead of turning. This is shown for three samples for Head, Stern wind and Beam wind. The turning can be increased if the ratio of Wind speed-to-ship...

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Video How SHIP Navigate Through Ice (Part-1, Maneuvering)

published on 29 May 2021

This is part -1 (Maneuvering) In near future more parts will be added to the playslist. In person Appearing - Captain Thomas Madsen Chief officer,Aresh Daruwala Harbour Pilot, ST. Petersburg Company Credit - WWW.Maersk.com Location - Saint Petersburg, Russia Vessel - Venta Maersk Calender - (JANUARY - APRI), 2021 Music credit - Stock Music Filmora All video was shot on GoPro Hero 9 Edited through Adobe Light Room & Wondershare Filmora Subscribe...

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Opinion Pilot Ladder - The Weakest Link in Marine Pilotage

by Capt. Santosha K. Nayak - published on 10 August 2020

Pilot transfer arrangement is a sensitive topic to be discussed among the pilot’s fraternity. Although ships are designed and operated with compliance to the SOLAS requirements in all respects including the pilot transfer arrangements, there has been numerous deficiencies observed related to pilot transfer arrangements. The small deficiencies from the part of ships cause life threatening accidents for pilots and sometimes to the ship staff themselves. There are many instances of defective ladder and complacency in proper rigging of ladders has been reported almost every day in different parts of the world. Many pilots lost their life, severely injured for life and face many minor to major accidents. The latest incident being the Capt. Timothy Murray of Sandy hooks Pilot.

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Article Rosmorport pilots perform test pilotage operation for a vessel with extended dimensions

by Port News - published on 16 June 2021

This operation was carried out as part of a study of the capability of vessels of 142 meters length to enter and leave the seaport of Vyborg in the daylight.

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Article LOC Launch Digital Solution Enhancing Port Pilotage Safety

published on 26 February 2021

LOC, part of AqualisBraemar LOC Group, is pleased to announce it is launching a new digital solution to enhance safety of marine operations within ports and harbours.

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