Jersey: Pierre Chays, Harbour Pilot and Marine Safety Manager

Delaware River Pilot Boat Overfalls Working the Delaware River - Paulsboro, NJ - March 18, 2025

Article by www.MaritimeCyprus.com: We'd like to bring to your attention the USCG Policy Letter 01-24, which provides “Guidance regarding devices that alter maneuvering characteristics of ships to ensure safe operation in waters of the United States”.

Does the growth of ships ever have limits? Perhaps less in shipbuilding than in the handling of the ships during piloting.

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.

Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure has supplied its advanced navigation and piloting solutions for pilotage applications to facilitate the safe and efficient berthing of vessels and to increase safety of larger vessels at Peel Ports Group.

London Pilots (PLA) have issued an excellent quick reference guide for Pilot Transfer arrangements, which can be used for pilots as well as ship’s crews. Please take not of this document and if you can, try to incorporate it into your procedures.

Efforts to free the giant container ship are continuing after the 400m-long vessel became stuck in the Suez canal. Local authorities attempted to dislodge the 220,000 ton vessel from the banks of the canal using tug boats, but the megaship remains stuck more than one day after it ran aground.

Irish boatbuilder Safehaven Marine recently handed over a new pilot boat "Punta Do Cruceiro" to the Port of Ferrol in northwestern Spain

Most pilot embarkations and disembarkations around the world, are still carried out using a traditional pilot ladder, consisting of wooden steps supported and secured by side ropes.

The “DangerousLadder” page on facebook is nowadays a very well known community in the maritime world. It is steadily growing towards 3000 members, which will be the next milestone membership-wise.