"The Port Pilot" by Richard Blanco - Read by Tom Wilson

I had a fun opportunity to get some drone content of a ship getting underway from the port of Guayania Puerto Rico.

A wonderful poem by Gaylen K. Bunker found on YouTube. As read by the author from bis book "Poems".

A wonderful poem As read by the author From his books "Poems" Sometimes it is good just to stop and enjoy a poem. This poem "Ship's Pilot" is read by the author himself. A valuable piece about the nature of the pilot.

Congratulation to Ahmed Sati for 8,000 moves!

Video by Andy Mabbett, UK
A lovely morning for the arrival of the Royal Caribbean International Majesty of the Seas into Portsmouth International Port. Apologies for my basic editing but the overlays in each corner provide an idea of what my tugs azimuth thrusters were doing along the way with the sliders showing engine and propeller power. The Damen Shipyards Group ASD 2411 'MARKSMAN' of SMS Towage is an awesome tug with 70t Bollard Pull. This ensures the customer's v/l is handled safely...

The video was found on some social media channels in June 2020. When so many elementary mistakes are made and so many risks are taken, this is exactly what can happen! It's a demonstrative example of an unprofessional action: 1) Where is the life jacket? 2) No backpack on the shoulders. Use a rope to have the backpack lifted by the deck crew. 3) Where is the rest of the crew (on vessel / on the small boat) for safe assistance? What other mistakes have you discovered? We do not put videos...

It turns out that supertankers and cruise ships have valets. They're called maritime pilots, and they're among the most elite ship handlers in the world. So where does one go to learn how to park the largest ships in the world? To the Maritime Pilots Institute in Covington, La. There, they use mini-versions of the behemoth boats to teach the basics. All aboard!

This article was first published back in February 2022: According to the International Group of P & I Clubs’ “Report on P&I claims involving vessels under pilotage 1999-2019”, over the last twenty years, there were 1,046 incidents in which pilot error either caused or contributed to those events.

Footage from Germany, Bremerhaven

Inbound Vessel Passing Jungkat Pilot Station.