Northwest passage

The Northwest Passage is the approximately 5780 km long sea route that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean north of the American continent. It crosses the Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas as well as the associated sea lanes through the Canadian-Arctic archipel ago.

Roald Amundsen made his first complete successfully crossing in 1903-1906 via the route discovered by John Rae through the James Ross Strait, Rae Strait and Simpson Strait on the small ship Gjøa.

In this episode of Mighty Jobs we meet the piloting crew of Buksér og Berging in Tromsø, Norway. Their Volvo Penta-powered piloting boat covers around 42,000 nautical miles every year. That’s the equivalent of traveling around the world twice. The Volvo Penta IPS system makes it possible to pilot ships under all weather conditions.

⚓ Leaving Brixham for another pilotage assignment! Shortly after departing Brixham, I was lucky enough to be joined by a pod of dolphins, making the journey even more unforgettable. 🐬 In the distance, you can also see Berry Head, one of the most iconic landmarks overlooking Brixham Harbour, before heading out into open waters. If you enjoy life at sea, pilotage operations, ship handling, and beautiful coastal scenery, don't forget to like, subscribe, and join me for more adventures! 🌊⚓...

This what a normal work day looks like for a port pilot.
A 24 hour shift shown in 11 minutes.
Recorded in Santa Marta, Colombia.

#tugboatwilly #tugboat #mariners #nyharbor #mariner #docklife #boatlife #ship #bigship #captain #pilot

It remains a sad fact that accidents and near misses continue to occur during pilot transfers with frightening regularity. Most of these fortunately do not result in injury, and a surprisingly high number of them are not even recognised for what they are.

Surveys into pilot ladder safety consistently reveal that unacceptably high numbers of pilot transfer arrangements are not compliant with the regulations.

Let's change our perspective and see how the team sets up an accommodation ladder.

In this one you will see a couple different times when the Pilot boards or leaves the ship and how they do it. It is always interesting to watch even though I have seen it many time. Hope you all enjoy the video and hope to see you in the comments as always.

Southwest Alaska Pilots Association’s new Gladding and Hearn built, C Raymond Hunt designed pilot boat disembarks Capt. Ron Ward at Bligh Reef Pilot Station in Prince William Sound, Alaska March 2020

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.