PILOT VESSEL SPINDLETOP

Breaux’s Bay Craft, Loreauville, La., delivered the new 90’x23’x12’4″ aluminum pilot boat Spindletop to the Sabine Pilots on March 6. The Sabine Pilots, Port Arthur, Texas, serve the Texas ports of Orange, Port Arthur and Beaumont. “This is the biggest pilot boat built in the U.S.,” said Roy Breaux, the shipyard’s owner. “There are bigger ones in other parts of the world, but this is the largest in the U.S.”

Pilot Organisation: Sabine Pilots - USA

Foyle Leader 2 inbound to Greencastle on Lough Foyle after delivering a pilot on bulk carrier Intrepid. www.nightskyhunter.com

The Galveston-Texas City Pilots has taken delivery of its fourth pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. The new launch is equipped with a Seakeeper 30HD stabilizing gyro, which, according to shipyard officials, will reduce up to 80% the vessel’s roll.

The Virginia Pilot Association has taken delivery of a Chesapeake Class MK II launch from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, its ninth pilot boat built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard since 1983.

Since the Chesapeake Class pilot boat was introduced by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard in 2003, 22 boats have been delivered to 11 pilot associations throughout the United States.

Like threading a needle. Watch as the skilled captain of the Pacific Chinook comes alongside of her sister ship the Pacific Pathfinder to transfer some crew. Watch how precise he can maneuver the boat with her water jets.

The new design, is based below the waterline upon our Barracuda deep ‘V’ planning hull, fully proven in service with versions operating as pilot and S.A.R. craft.

Harbor Pilot Nasir Khan from Pakistan has sent his own checklist to Marine-Pilots.com - we share this list for our readers and look forward to an interesting discussion.

Part one report on the collision on 8 November 2018 between the frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad and the oil tanker Sola TS outside the Sture Terminal in the Hjeltefjord in Hordaland county

While in many western countries of the world, pilots there have already been preferentially vaccinated against COVID-19, pilots in other countries such as Malaysia are struggling to get vaccinated.