Queen Mary 2 embarking the Hamburg Pilot

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

Spotted some Pilot Boats in the Port of Auckland, New Zealand and Melbourne & Fremantle Australia (Port codes: Auckland:NZ AKL ; Melbourne:AU MEL ; Fremantle:AU FRE).

KITTIWAKE ( MMSI 232008570) is a Pilot and currently sailing under the flag of United Kingdom (UK) Here she is speeding down the River this morning.

Among the few marine professions that purse a man's technical skills and value very high, maritime piloting perhaps is in a class of its own. In this career, the pilot is entrusted to maneuver vessels through some of the most challenging and congested waterways while ensuring seamless integration between shipboard operations and port infrastructure.

We do not put videos of accidents on our website out of voyeurism. We would like to point out that the work of a pilot is always dangerous, especially when embarking and disembarking!
These incidents should be a warning. It can hit anyone out of carelessness.
Dear pilots, please always be mindful and always think of your safety!

Boarding a vessel at sea is no simple task. This video provides detailed instructions and demonstrations about safe boarding of vessels.

The Bahamas has imposed a compulsory maritime pilot rule for all vessels, including cruise ships, at its ports since September 2025.

Shortly after 5 a.m. local time the vessel “Else” had a collision in the Kiel-Holtenau lock to the Kiel Canal.
The "Else" subject to pilotage passed the pilot's boarding position without taking a sea pilot on board and collided from the outside into the closed gate of the new north lock. The bow bored into the metal construction and the ship was stuck for about six hours.
For more information about this accident see related content below (articles).

Marine Pilot Arie Palmers, who works in the Netherlands, will make a presentation on the irregularities found in the embarkation and disembarkation ladders of ships. After suffering two accidents in 2018, Arie became an inspector of the problems and has been an active voice in search of corrections with shipping companies, manufacturers, certifiers and entities that deal with the theme. According to him, the day-to-day practice shows that more than 50% of the means of access to vessels are...