Offshore Pilot transfer from ship to Pilot Boat

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.

This video from Northern Helicopter impressively shows how teamwork works in the maritime world. At TRENZ, we’re especially proud when two of our customers are in action together.

Crude Oil Tanker Ship "CABO VÍRGENES" / #PilotVessel "SEA MASTER" #BoardingPoint #JoinPoint #JP #Recalada #RioDeLaPlata - Embarking Maneuver of Rio de la Plata #Pilots / 02nd. May 2022. This video was filmed on board Pilot Vessel "SEA MASTER" and shows the Crude Oil Tanker Ship "CABO VÌRGENES" when she was arriving at #JP #Recalada to embark the Rio de la Plata Pilots Special thanks to the Master of the Crude Oil Tanker Ship "CABO VÍRGENES", Mr. Gonzalo HUICI, his Officers and the rest of...

The hazards of Pilot boarding
Throughout 2016, the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) held a safety campaign focused upon the standard of pilot ladders and associated equipment. CHIRP supported this campaign and received many reports on the subject.
This first report describes issues concerning pilot access near
the non-parallel ends of a ship, and use of a retractable platform.

The new pilot boat "Buran" has been delivered to Poseidon Sea Pilots of Queensland, Australia.

The St. Andrew’s Bay Pilots are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Captain Phillip Brady, age 46, on January 12, 2026.

An ATSB interim report outlines the sequence of events leading to the collision between the container vessel Maersk Shekou and the berthed tall ship STS Leeuwin II in Fremantle on 30 August 2024.

Shipbuilder Metal Shark is building a welded aluminum 55’ x 17’ pilot boat for the Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association in Mississippi.

Designed in-house, the new 55 Defiant Pilot being built for Pascagoula Pilots represents the latest evolution in Metal Shark’s pilot boat lineup. The distinctive vessel incorporates the“faceted hull” design initially developed by Metal Shark for the US Navy 40 PB program, and features an enhanced version of Metal Shark’s signature “pillarless glass” in a two-tiered, reverse-raked arrangement.