Pilot boat goes out, Pilot Boat comes in. The saltie Cape comes in. Busy Sunday in Duluth!

The "Sea Bear", (ex "Narrows") was built in 1959 in Massachusetts for use as a pilot boat in New York. Ed Montgomery, at Sea Service, LLC, bought her and brought her to the Twin Ports in September, 2002.

The mouth of the Duluth Canal is a dangerous entrance in bad weather. Here the coast guard shows the agility of their boats. What a ride!

Live Stream for Duluthharborcam.com

In this eye-opening episode of Sea Views, host Julia Gosling speaks with Captain Andrew Moll (Chief Inspector, UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch), Ari Palmers (Senior Maritime Pilot, Netherlands), and Adam Parnell (Director, CHIRP Maritime) to confront the serious dangers faced by maritime pilots — especially during pilot transfers, where fatality rates remain alarmingly high.

Consistently 99.9 per cent safe operation of large vessels: Marine pilots on Canada’s West Coast have an exceptional safety record in the world’s largest pilot-mandatory zone for large vessels including oil tankers.

I am not a computer savvy. My knowledge in programming and robotics and those sort of things is nil. I get lost in the sea of social media and easily entangle myself in the web. All I have done for the last 25 years or so is to pilot ships through the Panama Canal. However, during the last couple of years I have done my best to catch up with technology, since it has enhanced our possibilities and improved safety in our field. But still, I have to admit that I am way behind the new guys in this important issue.

IMPA is conducting a study to gain significant insights into the current and potential use of "remote piloting" on conventional ships as well as those that may be remotely operated or navigated by autonomous software in the future.

Una nave cisterna, con l aiuto dei rimorchiatori, ormeggia in banchina.
A tanker, with the help of tugs, moors on the quay.

All five crew of pilot vessel POLLUX PILOT VESSEL, Dutch Pilotage Service, came up with positive test after self-testing on 9 January 2022.

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.