Berthing Hamburg port - Pilots' masterpiece

Ship Name: Pilot 4 ENI: 04810620 Client: Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) Operator: Hafenlotsenbrüdergesellschaft Hamburg Shipyard: Schiffswerft Hermann Barthel, Derben Building No. 170 Classification: Germanischer Lloyd Grade: GL + 100 A5 IN (1,2) Z Pilot Boat Length: 17.93 m Width 4.98 m Draught 1.20 m Main engines: 2 MAN Type D 2876 LE 407 Machine output: 2 x 360 kW/1,800 rpm #shipspotting #pilotboat #hamburg

This is a short video of the Hamburg Pilot boarding Queen Mary 2. These people make it look easy but, it is a dangerous manoeuvre.

In this video we are trying to show how a ship enters into Mombasa port through a canal and the procedure of berthing.

A busy morning with all three pilot services on jobs at Point Lonsdale, Victoria, Australia.
Ship spotting at Point Lonsdale and other water activities.

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.

Welcome back to the Fluctus Channel for a feature on the important role of tugboats in navigating the bigger vessels in harbors and canal, as well as the open seas.

Today I will discuss a very simple and useful practical trick often used by pilots.

When we have to berth a vessel with small clearances forward and aft (say 20 to 25 mtr fwd and aft) it is very essential that you are able to estimate your position. Now most of the time you have a berthing supervisor on jetty who will help you with position.

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.