Texas State Harbor Pilots

I have had the privilege of being at quite a number of meetings, conferences and seminars, sometimes representing The Netherlands, but mostly representing the Netherlands pilots. I have had many discussions about the role of pilots and pilot organisations, which lead me to write an article “What is the added value of pilotage?”, published in the February 2020 issue of Seaways.

To monitor the vessel’s progress, the pilot had set up his portable pilotage unit (PPU). He had connected the rate-of-turn generator to the vessel’s pilot plug and had set a variable range marker on the radar with a radius of 0.5 nm.

Opinion article by BAIRD Maritime, Australia

APL Belgium in rough water near the Farallon Islands pilot station.

"No day is the same, and this is what makes the job so interesting.
ANGUS MACAULAY
Pilot, Montrose Port Authority

MV Astoria, Dunkirk

The Arctic magnetic pole does not move anymore. It runs, faster and faster. In recent years, even faster than expected. Therefore, geo-researchers have now had an unscheduled change to their world model and adjust their calculations, so that navigation with compass and other navigation aids such as a Pilot Plug, used by pilots around the world, continue to work.

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.

Safehaven Marine have launched a new Interceptor 48 pilot boat ‘Pilot 1’ for the Gdynia Pilots in
Poland. This is Safehaven’s 44th Pilot vessel delivered to ports worldwide. Safehavens Pilot 48 has
proved to be a superb sea boat performing admirably in pilotage operations with all owners extolling
its virtues of seakeeping, strength and stability.

Earlier this year ABP announced an investment of around £9 million to build nine new pilot boats. These vessels were ordered from Goodchild Marine Services Limited and are being built in Norfolk along with much of the supply chain coming from East Anglian suppliers.