Pilot Boarding by Helicopter @Newcastle, Australia

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.

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).

Big thanks to Geraldton Port Authority for allowing Bill and I to go out in one of their pilot boats and board a ship. It was a beautiful day for it.

It is not often that this blog is used to show bad practice, however in this case some pictures tell a whole story. Ship is compliant by design for rigging a combination. How about the operator(s)?

The P and O ship Adonia leaving Lisbon on 3-11-14. This was the Pilot's second attempt to leave the ship. A smaller cutter found the seas too rough to take off the Pilot so this larger cutter took over.

Bulk Carrier Ship "THALIS" / Pilot Boat "SEA PILOT" / Embarking Maneuvering of Rio de la Plata Pilots,
Argentina

Ideas from Nasir Khan, Port Pilot: "I would like to suggest that we try an experiment and make some modifications that will result in a better grip on the handrails of the ship's ladder and on the pilot ladder steps. Let's talk about it!"

Pilot-Guard is a global pilot safety network that enables the real-time exchange of safety-related information between organisations around the globe on non-compliant pilot transfer arrangements (nc-pta) of vessels.

The transfer of pilots to and from seagoing vessels should not rely solely on mutual trust and good intentions.