Maritime Education #5: Pilotage Operations on General Cargo ship

Following a surf riding and broaching incident and subsequent collision by an experienced vessel operator, QinetiQ have been undertaking extensive investigations into the risk mitigation and safety management of pilotage operations. This presentation looks to discuss the risks presented during pilotage services, and provide a critical review of vessel design and service delivery approaches to understand the potential risk mitigations and management of pilot boat safety.

Visit https://www.maritimetraining.com to purchase the full-length version. Produced by Maritime Training Services.

Pilotage is being able to navigate safely into and out of a harbour/anchorage/port knowing where you are at all times, where your hazards are and a safe route in/out. This is particularly useful if you are heading into somewhere new or a challenging/busy area – or both!

In fact, the pivot point that we “see” is a trick of the eye, it looks like the ship is rotating about this point but in fact it is elsewhere, a point that you cannot see.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the maritime supply chain and called for accelerated adoption of digital technologies in various aspects of maritime operations, including the area of maritime education and training (MET).

Sea Harbour Pilots: the men and women who guide ships into ports, at all hours, in all weather, in places around the Maritimes.

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

Ideas from Nasir Khan, Port Pilot: "I would like to suggest that we try an experiment and make some modifications that will result in a better grip on the handrails of the ship's ladder and on the pilot ladder steps. Let's talk about it!"

Interesting video by "JeffHK" from Hong Kong about the job of a maritime pilot.

There are approximately 160 Columbia River Pilots, which are organized into two associations. The Columbia River Pilots Association (CRPA) is made up of 80 pilots, while the Washington Pilots Association (WPA) consists of 80 pilots.