pilot ship

[hlb76]

I was just wondering what the deal with the pilot ships are. I see them on each cruise but I have never asked what there real purpose is. I know this is prob a stupid question but I am interested. Thanks in advance....

[elcuchio24]

I was just wondering what the deal with the pilot ships are. I see them on each cruise but I have never asked what there real purpose is. I know this is prob a stupid question but I am interested. Thanks in advance....

 

They have local harbor masters that pilot the ships out of some ports.

[firefly333]

they are required to guide ships in and out of the ports.

 

galveston I heard at one time requires two pilot ships. they keep a ship from hitting shallow areas and thru the channels.

[GalvestonCruiser1982]

They are exactly what they are called. They transport the harbor master (pilot) to or from the boat to drive the boat into dock or out to sea.

[dillonsmimi]

There is a captain on board that gets off and (taking command of the ship's course) guides these humongous ships thru the (naturally occurring) water hazards.

As soon as everything is safe, they get off.

The DH says these guys make huge amts of money.

 

mimi

[B and C Blake]

Psssst ... The Captain does not bring the ship into or out of the ports ... well most of them that is. I know Grand Turk there is no Harbor Pilot.

The Harbor Pilots know the waterways better then the Captain does so the HP boards the ship and guides her on into port. The same for leaving ports. The HP gets on board at the pier and then guides the ships out to sea.

When we were in Nassau the HP did a 180 right before docking .. now that was awesome to watch. He then went into reverse and backing her on in.

Looking down from our balcony. The POM Harbor Pilot disembarking Carnival Valor as we left port.

[sparks1093]

From http://law.jrank.org/pages/9210/Pilot.html :

 

"The captain, or master, of a large ship has total command in the high seas. However, when a ship enters or leaves a port, or enters a river or channel, the captain turns over navigation to a local pilot. Because of safety and commercial concerns, state and federal maritime law governs the licensing and regulation of pilots.

 

A docking pilot directs the tugboats that pull a ship from the pier. Once the ship has cleared the pier and is under way in the harbor, the docking pilot leaves the ship and turns navigation over to a harbor pilot. Every ship that enters and leaves a port must have a harbor pilot aboard. Once the ship reaches open water, a small boat picks up the harbor pilot and returns the pilot to port. The captain then resumes full command of the ship."

[elcuchio24]

There is a captain on board that gets off and (taking command of the ship's course) guides these humongous ships thru the (naturally occurring) water hazards.

As soon as everything is safe, they get off.

The DH says these guys make huge amts of money.

 

mimi

 

They do make great cash, but considering there is usually only one or possibly two at the big ports like Coz, it's a very tough gig to get.

[magic&buddy]

I was just wondering what the deal with the pilot ships are. I see them on each cruise but I have never asked what there real purpose is. I know this is prob a stupid question but I am interested. Thanks in advance....

 

I was wondering the same thing today!

[dillonsmimi]

I was sitting on my balcony enjoying the pea soup fog (sailing down the Mississippi from NO) and out of nowhere came these lights headed straight for me!

Was really relieved when this boat swung to and I could read the "PILOT" painted on the top!

Whoever was driving that little boat could really hot dog it!

He sped right up to an open doorway, the captain swung off, and that little thing was history!

 

Great memory!

 

mimi

[hlb76]

Thanks for all the answers....

 

We all where talking about the purpose of them my last cruise now I know the facts!

[B and C Blake]

I was sitting on my balcony enjoying the pea soup fog (sailing down the Mississippi from NO) and out of nowhere came these lights headed straight for me!

Was really relieved when this boat swung to and I could read the "PILOT" painted on the top!

Whoever was driving that little boat could really hot dog it!

He sped right up to an open doorway, the captain swung off, and that little thing was history!

 

Great memory!

 

mimi

 

It really is awesome to watch. Our balcony was directly over the doorway?? down on Deck 4 on Valor. It became a challenge to me to catch the harbor pilot either embarking or disembarking, LOL

 

We were late getting into St Thomas and were down on the Lobby deck and outside. I was able to see the pilot actually board but because of the angle of leaning over the rail I couldn't get a good shot. He just seemed to step on over and was on board, LOL.

Those harbor pilot captains are indeed little speed demons though. It is really amazing how they pull up alongside and just hold that speed.

Then ZIP they are off, LOL

This was going into St Thomas .. you can see the HP waiting to get alongside.

[*Mach*]

Every Sunday we (the Crazies...) watch for the pilot to arrive at the pier in Galveston. That means that the ship will be sailing soon... generally within 30 minutes.

 

The pilot(s) board the ship when she's inbound and debark when she's tied to the dock. When the ship sails they transfer from the cruise ship to the pilot boat. In Galveston this happens about 8 miles of so from shore...

 

At other ports, NYC for example, it can be much farther out. We were about 20 miles out into the Atlantic when the pilot transfered from the Carnival Dream...

 

They do make a bunch of money... about $400,000 a year in Galveston. Great gig if you can get it!

:)

[Mumsykat]

My husband and I like being on deck and watching the whole process - it is a fantastic thing to see! But we've never been able to successfully take a photo!:rolleyes:

[TracersQQ]

Boy, you learn something new everyday! Now, I'm going to pay more attention to the pilot boat. As I was reading this thinking, how and when would they get off the ship. But then I read Machs post and he said it could be several miles out to sea. I just always quit paying attention when we get out of the port area, assuming now we're in open waters nothing to see - well, I going to pay attention, for now on. About how long does it take to get 8-20 miles out to sea?

[derf5585]

Can alse be used to get late passengers back to the ship;):D

 

[blueskyday]

They do make great cash, but considering there is usually only one or possibly two at the big ports like Coz, it's a very tough gig to get.

 

After working in the maritime industry for a few years, it's my understanding that the job is handed down from retiring father to son (or other male relative). Very rarely is the job open for applications.

[SkyMaster]

Years ago, I was working here in Tampa, with U.S. Customs, and the subject of the pilots came up. According to that source, and at that time, the "Pilot" gig was so good, and so lucrative, that it was usually handed down from father to son, or brother to brother. An "outsider" didn't stand much of a chance of landing that job,,,at least here in the Tampa area, and at that time. I don't know if that's changed or not. Most likely, not! ;)

 

"SKY"

[MrSidewayz]

The pilot never takes over 'the controls' of the vessel, they are there as a 'local navigation aid' only.

 

Giving verbal instructions and guidance.

 

The Captain always has full command of his or her vessel. Particularly when manouvering into and out of ports, the Captain will be at the controls.

[derf5585]

After working in the maritime industry for a few years, it's my understanding that the job is handed down from retiring father to son (or other male relative). Very rarely is the job open for applications.

 

No Woman allowed:(

[elcuchio24]

After working in the maritime industry for a few years, it's my understanding that the job is handed down from retiring father to son (or other male relative). Very rarely is the job open for applications.

 

I've heard the exact same thing, and that some of those jobs in Mexico, etc, it also helps to have a 'freind' in the government. I grew up right by Maine Maritime Academy, and had a ton of freinds go theri. The harbor master pilot gig was always a dream job for all those guys.

[girlscruise2011]

Psssst ... The Captain does not bring the ship into or out of the ports ... well most of them that is. I know Grand Turk there is no Harbor Pilot.

The Harbor Pilots know the waterways better then the Captain does so the HP boards the ship and guides her on into port. The same for leaving ports. The HP gets on board at the pier and then guides the ships out to sea.

When we were in Nassau the HP did a 180 right before docking .. now that was awesome to watch. He then went into reverse and backing her on in.

Looking down from our balcony. The POM Harbor Pilot disembarking Carnival Valor as we left port.

 

I was in Nassau a few weeks ago and as I was sitting on the beach at the Hilton I watched this. It was amazing to watch such a large ship spin around and back up. When the next one came in, I video taped the whole thing. I forgot about that until now. I'll have to go home and watch it again and show my kids. I think they will enjoy it :D

[RuthlessBoss]

My simplistic explanation is...the local pilot must know everything about the underwater topography and keeps up with any changes that occur. A captain would not know every underwater landscape and changes that may happen from time to time. Prevents possible ship damage or ship causing damage.

[elcuchio24]

No Woman allowed:(

 

Not officially, but it's a pretty male dominated industry, similar to commercial aviation.

[JerrynClaire]

The pilot never takes over 'the controls' of the vessel, they are there as a 'local navigation aid' only.

 

Giving verbal instructions and guidance.

 

The Captain always has full command of his or her vessel. Particularly when manouvering into and out of ports, the Captain will be at the controls.

Not true, at least not in New Orleans it isn't. I have 6 members of my family who are pilots running ships up and down the Mississippi River. While it is true that the Captain never relinquishes control of the ship, they NEVER are "at the controls" at any time. A quartermaster does that, taking his commands from either the captain, first mate, or designated officer on duty in charge of navigation. These officers call out commands to the quartermaster, who in turn follows the commands. Likfe wise, Pilots do the same thing. The give commands and those commands are followed out. The Captain of the ship is NOT licensed to operate in the Mississippi River, therefore he can NOT navigate it.

 

In fact, most captains do not even stay on the bridge once a pilot boards the ship and navigates up or down river. They DO come up to the bridge for docking and undocking, but once again, they NEVER touch any controls. They WANT the Pilot handling it because they are EXPERTS at doing so in their area of the river. And yes, they make LOTS of money... A Crescent River Port Pilot sailing a ship from New Orleans to Pilottown makes 480,000 yearly and they only work every other week.