The life of a Deep Sea Pilot by Roger Francis

Let us start a journey back in time. Back to the black and white films of history. The times have changed, but it is good to know what kind of things have changed and where are the roots of pilotage.

Look at Life Vol 01 Transport Pilot Aboard 1963
The story of Britain's pilotage services.

The Maryland Pilots have guided ships to and from Baltimore since the 1700's. They have been chartered as an organization since 1852. This is an edited except from films about the Pilots shot between 1950-1965 for the Port that Built a City and State. The original films are in the archives of the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

The arrival of machine learning and artificial intelligence has taken efficiency to a whole new level. Software platforms can now suggest maintenance routines, recommend spare-part changes, and even predict breakdowns of machinery.

Let's change our perspective and see how the team sets up an accommodation ladder.

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

A maritime pilot tells us about why he loves switching ships in midstream.

The Master and pilot are dependant on each other for a safe and successful beginning or end of a voyage. They are both operating in a foreign environment.

Port Revel is used for shiphandling training of maritime pilots, masters and officers on a 5 ha lake with 11 manned model ships representing 20 vessels, and 4 tugs at scale 1:25 and DGPS tracking system. Instructors are former maritime pilots.
Training on the scale models provides experience that could never be gained on real ships for the simple reason that neither ship-owners nor local authorities would allow such risks to be taken. Scale models allow the shiphandler to make mistakes....