New Pilot

Chinese Govt. to Take Over Private Firms

The Chinese government will take over from private companies the pilot ships on certain waterways, Xihua reported. New pilot stations will be set up under local port authorities. On some waterways, a local pilot will board a ship to guide it to its berth. Piloting a foreign vessel represents also an act of state sovereignty and most governments in the world take it very seriously. In China, there are 35 pilot stations, 15 of which belong to large port companies. (Source: Xinhua)

Pilot Boats: Long Beach Pilots Go Far Out With New Boat

Jacobsen Pilot Service Inc., Long Beach Calif. Received a new 54-ft. (16.4-m) welded aluminum pilot boat from Hike Metal Products Ltd. in Wheatley, Ontario, Canada this past July. Hike Metal was approached in the early summer of 2002 after Jacobsen Pilots services owner Tom Jacobsen had conducted a thorough review of the market and read an article about a new Pilot Boat Hike had just built and delivered to Atlantic Canada

Ingram Lines Completes Standardization

Ingram Barge Lines operates one of the largest towboat fleets on the U.S. inland waters, with 70 towboats ranging from 600 to 9,200 hp and over 1,800 barges. The company operates on the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, Kanawha, Illinois and the Monongahela Rivers as well as the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Under the direction of David O'Neill, Assistant Vice-President of operations based in Paducah Kentucky

Marco Shipyard: Rolling With The Changes

Over their lifetime, fishing vessels are arguably the most robustly constructed maritime structures around, due to their continuous operation in the most arduous of conditions. Marco Shipyard in Seattle — founded in 1953 — built its business and reputation in the fishing industry, producing boats for operation around the globe. In fact, Peter G. Schmidt, company founder and president, was an innovator in the use of steel construction for the fishing vessel market

New Gladding-Hearn Order from Maryland Pilots

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has received a new pilot boat order from the Maryland pilots.  Delivery of the new 53-ft in 2010, will mark the shipyard’s eleventh Chesapeake Class pilot boat since it was introduced in 2002. Designed by C. Raymond Hunt & Associates, the new all-aluminum pilot boat measures 52.5-ft overall, with a 16.6-ft beam and 4.7-ft draft, and will have a top speed of 25 knots

TNPA South Africa Orders From Damen Shipyards

The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in South Africa has ordered a Pilot Cutter 2706 and its fifth Stan Tug 2006 with Damen Shipyards Cape Town for operations in the expanding Port of Saldanha (South Africa).   Both vessels have been specifically designed for the South African market. The Pilot Cutter 2706 will be delivered in May 2013 and the tug in March 2013. TNPA already operates four Damen Stan Tugs in South Africa

Decktor Shipyard Wins Contract For Two Pilot Boats

Derecktor Shipyards signed a contract with the New York/New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association for the construction of two all aluminum fast pilot boats. The two vessels will be built according to plans by Camarc Small Craft Designs of Worthing, U.K. in Derecktor's Mamaroneck, N.Y. facility. Delivery is scheduled for fall 2000. The Sandy Hook Pilots serve the port of New York, the busiest commercial port in the U.S

Carnival, Pilots Disagree on Ships' Volumes

Carnival Corp. filed suit against the Virginia Pilot Association this week, seeking to recoup about $350,000 in what it says are overcharges by the pilots, which steer ships between the Atlantic Ocean and docking points in the port of Hampton Roads, according to a report in The Virginia-Pilot. At issue is how to properly calculate the volumes of the Fun Ships that Carnival has sailed from Hampton Roads several times a year for the past decade

New & Notable:Halmatic Pilot Boats for Spain's Atlantic Coast

Two of VT Halmatic's new Optimized 35 Pilot Boats entered service with the pilots of La Coruna and Algeciras. Based at opposite ends of Spain's Atlantic Coast these 35's join a list of VT Halmatic pilot boats operating on the Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands. The Optimized 35 features a new resiliently mounted wheelhouse offering increased comfort and visibility for the two man crew and up to four pilots. The isolated wheelhouse helps to reduce levels of noise and vibration from the

Mariner’s Claim Dismissed

In an unpublished decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a claim filed by a mariner against various pilot boards based on the statute of limitations and failure to meet the age restriction. In the instant case, plaintiff mariner, who is an African-American, tried for a number of years to be accepted by the Crescent River Port Pilots Association and the Board of River Port Pilots Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans as an apprentice pilot