Pilot onboard!

A good working relationship with the pilot, effective Master Pilot Information Exchange at the start of the pilotage followed by well performing Bridge Resource Management during the pilotage passage, are important factors in a successful pilotage.

In one of the busiest and most critical waterways in the United States, timing and safety are everything. Along the Sabine-Neches Waterway in Port Arthur, Texas, the Sabine Pilots are redefining maritime pilot transfer by taking to the air. This video follows the Sabine Pilots and HeliService USA as they use Leonardo AW169 helicopters to move pilots safely and efficiently between ships—reducing risk, improving responsiveness, and keeping America’s energy gateway moving. From offshore hoists...

#PilotVessel "SEA PILOT"/ On board #BulkCarrierShip "ASL ARK" #KM239_1 #PuntaIndioChannel #Recalada #RioDeLaPlata #JP #BoardingPoint/ 19th. August 2025 - 09:47 Local Time.- On this video (with original sound), you can watch the moment in which the Pilot Vessel "SEA PILOT" arrived to the Port Side of the Bulk Carrier Ship "ASL ARK" (Approaching Maneuver) to Disembark the Rio de la Plata Pilots, from that vessel at the #BoardingStation​ #KM239_1 #PuntaIndioChannel #Recalada​ #RioDeLaPlata​.-...

U.S. Coastgard has published an update of their Recommendation for Pilot Transfer Arrangements in latest Marine Safety Information Bulletins (MSIB).

"Recent deaths of maritime pilots while embarking commercial vessels highlight the risks of operating in an
unforgiving maritime environment. To ensure the safety of all personnel boarding a vessel at sea, the Coast
Guard reminds vessel owners and operators of the requirements contained in the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter V, Regulation 23 and strongly recommends that owners and operators follow the recommendations within IMO Resolution A.1045(27) – Pilot Transfer Arrangements. "

This is a short documentary done in the 1980s of San Diego Harbor Pilots. It shows the old pilot boat built in 1914. The boat was donated to the Maritime Museum and provides daily bay rides for the public. The film shows arrival of the cruise ship SS Azure Seas.

Despite clear regulations and regular maintenance requirements, safety often falls by the wayside, as the current example of a bulk carrier vividly demonstrates.

It is not often that this blog is used to show bad practice, however in this case some pictures tell a whole story. Ship is compliant by design for rigging a combination. How about the operator(s)?

For the first time, the ports of Antwerp, Barcelona, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Montreal and Rotterdam come together to showcase their most advanced digital transformation and sustainability projects at their dedicated ‘Smart Ports’ exhibit

The scope of this report covers a twenty-year period between 1999 and 2019 in which there were 1,046 such recorded incidents and where each incident gave rise to P&I liabilities in excess of US$100,000.