HARBOUR PILOT

(Redirected from Pilot (harbour))

Signal flag H(Hotel) - Pilot on Board

Boarding is tricky, as both vessels are moving and cannot afford to slow down.

Pilot boat ''Apollo'', Rotterdam, is equipped with many railings to give pilots handholds while transferring.

Pilot boat ''Mount Stuart'' heads out on the Firth of Clyde.


A 'harbour pilot' guides ships through the narrow, shallow and dangerous coastal waters between a harbour and the open sea.
A highly coveted and potentially dangerous position, a pilot is a master mariner with many years of experience in the harbour that they are licensed to operate in.
Most harbours require vessels of a certain size to take on a pilot, at which point the pilot effectively controls the movements of that ship. Legally the master remains in command of the ship. The pilot is an adviser only.
Normally the pilot joins an incoming ship at sea via a fast pilot boat and climbs a swaying rope ladder sometimes up 40 feet to the deck of the largest container and tanker ships. With outgoing vessels, a pilot boat returns the pilot to land after the ship has successfully negotiated coastal waters. For large ships such as container vessels, the pilot may also arrive by helicopter.[1]
Pilots specifically use the pilotage techniques relying on nearby visual reference points and local knowledge of tides, swells, currents, depths and shoals that might not be readily identifiable on the nautical charts without first hand experience in the harbor in question.
Due to their size and mass, most large ships are very difficult to manoeuvre; the stopping distance of a supertanker is typically measured in miles and even a slight error in judgement can cause significant damage.

Contents
See also
References
External links

See also



Bar pilot

Pilotage

References


1. Helicopter Harbor Pilot Shuttle (example from the 'Arctic Air Service' website. Retrieved 2007-08-20.)

External links



Corporation of Lower St Lawrence Pilots

American Pilots Association

Atlantic Pilotage Authority

Australian Marine Pilots Association

Biscayne Bay Pilots

Boston Pilot Association

Columbia River Pilots

Columbia River Bar Pilots

European Maritime Pilots Association

Honolulu Pilots

Houston Pilots

International Maritime Pilots Association

Association of Maryland Pilots

Northeast Marine Pilots

Norwegian Pilots

Puget Sound Pilots

Sandy Hook Pilots

San Francisco Bar Pilots

Savannah Pilots Association

Western Great Lakes Pilots

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