The US Coast Guard "Safety Alert 04-22" has been released. The alert addresses the importance of verifying the correct arrangement of handholds in embarkation gate arrangements aboard merchant vessels.

Top condition. Quality assurance with label, certificate and registration. Truly exemplary work in the service of safety for pilots. Great to see that.

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.

Departing a 159,000 tonne 274 metre long tanker at the Humber Pilot station

Goodchild Marine have designed an MOB recovery platform system that can be fitted to existing vessels or incorporated into new constructions.

Towage operator Svitzer recently took delivery of a new pilot boat from Western Australia-based boatbuilder Dongara Marine.

The debate is whether highly skilled pilots could have successfully overcome the recent Boeing 737 MAX computer deficiencies. Will this question eventually be relevant to harbor pilot skills?

How AIS Works - Operation of AIS

When I was a deck officer back in the early nineties I worked on a ship that used to load grain at different ports along the Mississippi river. The name of the ship was Golden Hope, a 600 feet long dry bulk carrier with a 95 feet in beam. An average size vessel for those days' standards.