From Dusk to Dawn - SOHAR Port

Container ship @ Port of Sohar

1st 24,000 TEU vessel, 1st Containers loaded, 1st Port call Qingdao

A day in the life of a PLA Pilot and the team effort it takes to get the job done

We were lucky to come across the Tom Crean whilst offshore putting some hours on the Interceptor 60 pilot P&O Sahm. Taking the opportunity to undertake some alongside handling trials, we captured some cool footage of Tom Crean pushing through the waves.

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.

This week, the International Maritime Organization Sub-Committee responsible for developing amendments to SOLAS regulation V/23 and associated instruments (NCSR 11) finalized a new performance standard for pilot transfer arrangements, which is expected to be made mandatory by SOLAS and apply to new and existing SOLAS and non-SOLAS ships from 1 January 2028.

Compmillennia LLC (Washington, North Carolina, U.S.A.) has delivered its Lightspeed® 41 (15.5-meter) Pilothouse catamaran, featuring strong but lightweight all-composite construction with a 42-knots achieved by twin 300-hp V8 Mercury Seapro outboard engines.

The pilots say that Port Tampa Bay leadership is leaning on them to change policies in ways they say would be less safe.