Pilot boarding by helicopter in Hay Point, 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.

In early December, just as I was starting to get into ship spotting, I saw a couple of vessels headed up river towards Philly. One of them, the Cielo di Iyo met with the harbor pilot right as I had my drone up. I was able to capture the Pilot coming to meet the vessel and CLIMBING the ladder to get on board just before she passed beneath the Walt Whitman Bridge.

Vishva Preeti

Delaware River Pilot Boat Cape Henlopen Transfers Pilot to Cargo Ship Al Wathba - Delaware River - Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania - June 6, 2025

WESTDIEP PILOT (IMO: 9568988) is a Pilot Ship that was built in 2011 (10 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Belgium.

This video shows an introduction on the Pull-out Test-Manoeuvre and describes the procedure how to steer through this simple manoeuvre: Turning circle and then put the rudder amidships. The final rate of turn allows to identify stable and unstable conditions.