Video Is this a safe disembarkation?
published on 19 October 2021
Video Flying into the Graveyard of the Pacific: Ports Unknown with Columbia River Bar Pilot Michael Tolley
published on 15 June 2026
At the mouth of the Columbia River lies "The Graveyard of the Pacific"—the deadliest river bar crossing on earth. To get a massive cargo ship safely through these crushing waves, an elite Bar Pilot has to board a moving ship by climbing a rope ladder and get's hoisted off the ship by helicopter 10 miles off shore in the Pacific Ocean. In this episode of What do you Wanna Cook?: PORTS UNKNOWN, we get you as close to the action as humanly possible. We take you inside the cockpit for an...
Video Onboard withTampa Bay Pilots
published on 21 November 2024
Amid the breathtaking beauty of Tampa Bay, there is a constant current of change for the Tampa Bay harbor pilots. In an ocean that can turn from peaceful to perilous, the pilots are required to have a calm voice and a steady hand.
“You really do have to know how to work under pressure. You’ve got to be quick on your feet. You’ve got to be on point all the time,” pilot Tevin Freeman said.
Read more: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hillsboroughcounty/tampa-bay-pilots-ships-skyway-...
Article IMO opens discussion on SOLAS Convention to amend pilot boarding arrangements
published on 28 November 2022
Video Documentation 'Marine Pilots' from Port Botany, Sydney (2018)
published on 10 September 2020
Video Riding with the Savannah Pilots
published on 25 October 2020
Over the course of 4 days this August, I was afforded the opportunity and privilege of riding with the Savannah Bar Pilots for an article I was writing for a major maritime magazine. The pilots are given the responsibility of boarding a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean and safely navigating the vessel up the Tybee Road 9 (a name for the shipping lane that leads into the Savannah River), into the Savannah River, and into the Port of Savannah. The same is done in reverse when a ship is outbound...