Maersk Semarang - Pilotage into Fremantle Harbour.

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.

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

A ship may berth port or starboard side on or bow or stem on. The term “berth” refers to the quay, or wharf, or, pier or jetty where the ship comes alongside, but it may also mean a place in which a vessel is moored or anchored.

Hooghly river Marine pilotage is one of the toughest and longest pilotage in the world,
pilots here face many challenges daily to enable safe passage of ships from bay of Bengal to the port of CALCUTTA and Haldia.
Pilot embarkation and disembarkation is a vital part , where the pilot climbs up or down a rope ladder ,if the free board is more than 9 meters then combination ladder is used it needs very good physical fitness practice and experience to safely embark and disembark from these...

"Keeping the ports of NSW open to the world" - Watch how the teams at Port Authority of New South Wales work on the water 24/7 to keep our ports safe, secure and open to the world.

The IMPA safety campaign on pilot ladders has run for a long time now. In this document the results of the IMPA safety campaign have been analyzed from 2016 to 2020.

The article was written by Allen Garfinkle, Executive Director – Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun

Crude Oil Tanker British Robin passing St Anns Head on a rather windy day in Pembrokeshire.

The pilots make docking mega-ships look easy despite the meteorological disturbance.
Great pictures from Morocco