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.

Pilot on Board - Documentary Movie ⚓️ The documentary Pilot on Board shows us the highly responsible work of Finnish pilots and pilot boat operators, through all seasons, in different circumstances, ships and ports. In spring we go onboard in Örregrund, Kotka, to guide the cargo ship M/S Arabian Breeze to port. In summer we see how the 290 metres long cruise ship M/S Emerald Princess is piloted from Harmaja to the West Harbour in Helsinki. The pilotage of a Dutch ship in Lake Saimaa was...

Electronic warfare in the Baltic Sea is escalating rapidly, with GPS and AIS disruptions posing growing risks to maritime navigation. Russia’s hybrid strategy is targeting both safety and stability in one of Europe’s most critical shipping regions. Pilots and crews now face a new reality: navigating under threat.

This article was first published back in February 2022: According to the International Group of P & I Clubs’ “Report on P&I claims involving vessels under pilotage 1999-2019”, over the last twenty years, there were 1,046 incidents in which pilot error either caused or contributed to those events.

A court sentenced a captain to a total of 30 months imprisonment: It had been proven beyond doubt that the side ropes had been manipulated to make a ship inspection more difficult or to prevent it.

With approval from the Danish Emergency Management Agency, DanPilot and Danelec are now initiating a test program for remote pilotage – the first of its kind in the world.