Halifax pilot boat in big swells alongside a ship

I took a break from fixing a Chevrolet to spot Grays Harbor pilot boat Vega out in the harbor during sea trials after a top end rebuild on one of her mains. Impressive watching these guys messing around and confidently performing maneuvers. We now return to your regularly scheduled car content.

Boat builder Metal Shark recently delivered a welded-aluminum 45 Defiant crew boat to Anchorage Launch Services, an Oregon-based operator providing launch, line, pilotage, and cargo services to vessels on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

At the A&R shipyard in Germany, the successful principle of SWATH boats was further developed in 2013: The SWASH principle allows sea-going, smaller and more economical boats.

Qualified pilots are usually employed by the local port or maritime administration, and provide their services to ships for a fee, calculated in relation to the ship’s tonnage, draught or other criteria.

Meanwhile, female pilots are more and more common.

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).

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Good initiave: A very good summary about Pilot Ladder commpliance by BW group.
Some are aware and are going the extra mile for the safety of pilots, a big shout out for those who do! Worth reading.