Luke Pollard tests out the new pilot boat

16mt HSLC CLASS ALUMINIUM PILOT BOAT engineered & build by LYNX.

Safehaven Marine, pilot boat specialist builders in Ireland have launched a new Interceptor 48 pilot boat for the Port of Coruna in Northern Spain. ‘Practicos Coruna Ochno’ is powered by a pair of Volvo D13 500hp continuously rated engines and ZF Gearboxes. Propulsion is by conventional sterngear turning 28” propellers giving her a 25kts continuous operational speed. Capable of carrying 7 pilots and crew all on shock mitigation seating comfortably in her spacious fully lined cabin with extremely low noise levels of 73db recorded.

PILOT STEINBURG (MMSI: 211784710) is sailing under the flag of Germany.
Her length overall (LOA) is 29 meters and her width is 8 meters.

Here’s a nice little video of rough weather sea trials that coincided with ‘Storm Agnes’ last week in the Interceptor 48 pilot boat ‘Svitzer Oued Laou’. The storm produced some pretty big waves at the entrance to Cork Harbour, and strong winds during the height of the storm. We managed to capture some cool footage from Roches PT lighthouse. It was fairly rough, although by not coinciding with the ebbing tide conditions aboard were quite comfortable, and our Pilot 48 handled it effortlessly...

With approval from the Danish Emergency Management Agency, DanPilot and Danelec are now initiating a test program for remote pilotage – the first of its kind in the world.

We take a look at some of the dangerous ladder arrangements provided by ships when attempting to take maritime pilots on board. Our message is simple: if you are offered an unsafe or non-compliant ladder, do not board!

The American Maritime Pilot has a special and important job bringing ships into port safely. In the history of pilots Robert Smalls stands out as one of the most heroic and able pilots in American History.
Watch the full video below:

Advanced automation has been highlighted as contributory to several accidents involving modern bridge support systems and automation aiding maritime pilots for maneuvering and navigation. This paper argues for reskilling for automation collaboration.