Pilotage on Sabine River (USA)

River Mersey Pilot Boat going slowly inbound on the river before turning and heading northbound again.

Pilot boats Petrel, Kittiwake and Razorbill officially named in the Albert Dock, Liverpool back in April 2018. Each boat was officially named. Afterwards i was allowed onboard to have a sneak peak at Petrel, which a short video is included at the end of this video.

All working vessels on the River Mersey gathered in front of the Three Graces – Liver Building, Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building. The formation included pilot launch boats, RNLI Lifeboats, river tugs, Mersey Ferries and the Disney Magic cruise liner. They all blew their whistles in tribute to The Sovereign, who passed away last week. River tugs will perform Fleur De Lis – spraying water from their fire cannons. Vessels currently within Liverpool and Wirral dock systems,...

Pilots are expert ship handlers who possess detailed knowledge of local waterways. They are transported by high speed "Pilot Boat" or helicopter from shore to an inbound ship and from an outbound ship back ashore. Most ports have compulsory pilotage.

A counterfeit ladder is a pilot ladder that purports to be a genuine approved ladder, from a manufacturer that has been certified by an approved body in the manufacture of pilot ladders to a certified standards.

It remains a sad fact that accidents and near misses continue to occur during pilot transfers with frightening regularity. Most of these fortunately do not result in injury, and a surprisingly high number of them are not even recognised for what they are.

Surveys into pilot ladder safety consistently reveal that unacceptably high numbers of pilot transfer arrangements are not compliant with the regulations.

by Kenya Citizen TV

At the end of the disembarking procedure, the pilot jumps on ropes onto the pilot boat. Is this often seen practice safe? Can the pilot resolve the situation better?

Here’s a nice video of the ‘Independent Vision’ having her pilot embarked offshore by the Cork pilot boat ‘Failte’ an Interceptor 48 before she enters Cork Harbour. We also undertook some alongside handling trials at the same time with ‘San Cibrao’ before she is shipped to Spain. Sure was interesting trying to land the drone back on the boat in the 40kt winds offshore!