Departing Miami on Norwegian Sky & Pilot Boat

A pilot boat entering the port of Miami.

Here’s a nice video of ‘Miami’ the Interceptor 48 pilot we built for the Biscayne Bay Pilots, Florida on sea trials, with Voyager helping out as the camera boat.

A patrol boat of the Navy of Venezuela sank in international waters after apparently shooting and ramming a German cruise ship. Allegedly the "Resolute" was to be diverted off course.

pilot boat handoff from the carnival breeze September 17th 2019

We take a look at some of the dangerous ladder arrangements provided by ships when attempting to take maritime pilots on board. Our message is simple: if you are offered an unsafe or non-compliant ladder, do not board!

Brief footage of a maritime pilot disembarking the Disney Magic and boarding his pilot boat as we left Nassau in January 2022.

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) examines and investigates all types of marine accidents to or on board UK vessels worldwide, and other vessels in UK territorial waters. Here is the annual report of 2020.