In our new new section “Five questions for ..." Marine-Pilots.com introduces pilots and other market players to our readers in short interviews.

Today we have talked to Olli Taipale, Chief Pilot at Finnpilot.

Great Lakes Pilot Eric Treece joined us in the Virtual Visitor Center for an interview about his career as a fleet captain and his experiences now as a pilot working aboard a variety of ships. In the course of the conversation, he shares some spectacular photos he has taken over the years. TECHNICAL NOTE: there are a few audio glitches we could not correct but it only impacts a few spots.

Chapter 3 from the book "Crossing the Bar, The Adventures of a San Francisco Bay Bar Pilot" by Captain Paul Lobo, available on Amazon (link below)

Two decades ago, candidates were selected for TNPA's accelerated training programme in Rotterdam, which aimed to train a new generation of ship pilots, managers and other maritime professionals.

There are some problems that never seem to go away and one is the perennial difficulties in providing a safe way of getting pilots on and off a ship.

A maritime pilot tells us about why he loves switching ships in midstream.

As my colleagues know, IMPA conducts a “safety campaign” in the fall every year. The 2022 safety survey report was released a few days ago. First of all, we would like to thank the pilots who participated in this survey from all over the world.

Unless you were paying attention on your last cruise, you might have missed the pilot boat bringing the pilot out to your cruise ship.

This section should give a short introduction to: Operational aspects of AIS Functions and features Human aspects Key Points The AIS transponder unit. Automatic communication. SOLAS requirements. AIS Information sent by ships. Static information update. MMSI Dynamic information update. Voyage related information update. Checking AIS data. BIIT Display Of AIS data. Recommended AIS symbols. Sleeping target symbol. Activated target symbol. Selected target symbol. Dangerous target...