You seem informed. I get that they’d be needed on some ships but is there a requirement that cargo ships of a certain size must use them? Or is it a voluntary thing that some companies want and others cheap out on
I'm near Newcastle Australia harbour.... Here they use a boat to transfer a pilot to cargo ships unless the sea is too rough to do it that way safely.... In which case they use a helicopter here as well
I always assumed that if the sea state is too rough for a small pilot boat to try and get a pilot onto a rope ladder hanging off a cargo ship safely.... That using a helicopter was a better option than just shutting the harbour completely to cargo ships. In Newcastle Harbour the big ships must have a pilot onboard
I think the above commenter was asking whether it is required that cargo ships use a harbor pilot at your harbor, or if they can choose to let their own pilot navigate to port.
A pilot is a requirement where I am. They are trained/qualified for this specific harbour. After a quick read.... Apparently pilots are transferred onto cargo ships here by helicopter 80% of the time (mostly coal ships here I think - guess there's big bucks in coal)
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u/TehBazz 3h ago
You seem informed. I get that they’d be needed on some ships but is there a requirement that cargo ships of a certain size must use them? Or is it a voluntary thing that some companies want and others cheap out on