Maritime Pilot Tribute (Cape Cod Canal)

Drydocking or undocking is always a difficult task, particularly with a “dead” vessel (no power/propulsion) and the wind blowing on the ship's side.

Gabon, Baie du Prince, 2012.
Getting that nice fat lady alongside

Pilots are expert ship handlers who possess detailed knowledge of local waterways. They are transported by high speed "Pilot Boat" or helicopter from shore to an inbound ship and from an outbound ship back ashore. Most ports have compulsory pilotage.

Columbia River Bar Pilots risk their lives every day and night to keep cargo ships moving across the dangerous Columbia River Bar. They work in any weather and help protect the environment by making sure the big ships do not crash on their way in or out of the river.
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A wonderful poem by Gaylen K. Bunker found on YouTube. As read by the author from bis book "Poems".

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) and other individual MOB devices have been available for some years now and have evolved to incorporate a variety of different alerting methods and combinations. However, usage of these additional enhancements within UK Pilotage is still in its infancy.

The Japanese-flagged container ship ONE Apus has lost 1,816 cargo carriers after it was caught up in a violent storm in the Pacific on November 30, 2020. The vessel arrived December 8 in the Japanese port of Kobe, where shipowners and managers said a full safety inspection would be carried out. The incident is described as the second biggest cargo loss in shipping history.

The San Juan pilot boat coming next to our ship.

Original article published on Baird Maritime

Irish builder Safehaven Marine has delivered a new pilot boat ordered by the Port of Sines in southwestern Portugal near the country’s capital of Lisbon.