Pilots – Professional Mariner

13 May

Gladding-Hearn repowers launch for Charleston pilots

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPilots, shipbuilding

(SOMERSET, Mass.) — Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding has delivered a repowered pilot boat, Fort Ripley, after 10 years of continuous service in the Port of Charleston. The all-aluminum vessel, operated by the Charleston Branch Pilots, was also outfitted with a Seakeeper 40 gyro stabilizer. The 65-foot Fort Ripley was designed by Ray Hunt Design and Gladding-Hearn and built by the Somerset, Mass.,…

25 Apr

Legislators honor San Francisco Bar Pilots on 175th anniversary

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry NewsPilots, shipping

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — On Tuesday, the San Francisco Bar Pilots was presented with a resolution from the California Legislature commemorating the organization's 175th anniversary. On April 22, 1850, during the first legislative session of the new state of California, elected officials enacted laws to create the first state-licensed bar pilots. Since then, the bar pilots have continuously served California and…

31 Mar

Gladding-Hearn delivers 10th launch to Virginia pilots

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPilots, shipbuilding

(SOMERSET, Mass. ) — The Virginia Pilot Association has taken delivery of a new high-speed pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corp. It’s the Virginia pilots’ 10th launch built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard since 1983. The all-aluminum launch, Old Dominion, is designed and outfitted for the pilots' Hampton Roads harbor station. An all-new, shallow-V hull by Ray Hunt Design…

20 Feb

Groundbreaking Gladding-Hearn launch set for refit

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPilots, shipbuilding

(SOMERSET, Mass.) — The Charleston Branch Pilots have returned the pilot boat Fort Ripley to Gladding-Hearn after 10 years of continuous service for the Port of Charleston, S.C. The all-aluminum vessel will be repowered and refitted with a new Seakeeper 40 gyro stabilizer. The 65-foot vessel was designed by Ray Hunt Design and Gladding-Hearn and built by the Somerset, Mass.,…

28 Jan

Gladding-Hearn delivers 11th launch to Delaware pilots

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPilots, shipbuilding

(SOMERSET, Mass.) — The Pilots’ Association of the Bay and River Delaware has taken delivery of another pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corp. It’s the association’s fourth Chesapeake-class launch and 11th pilot boat built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard since 1957. With a deep-V hull designed by Ray Hunt Design, the new all-aluminum launch Pennsylvania measures 53.6 feet overall,…

30 Dec

Safety alert: Identifying counterfeit pilot ladders

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPilots, Safety alert, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — Marine inspectors from Sector Maryland-National Capital Region (NCR) discovered counterfeit pilot ladders during a port state control examination at the Port of Baltimore. The identification plate on the ladder (Figure 1) contained several errors, including referencing ISO 779-1 instead of the correct standard, ISO 799-1, and lacked the ISO 799-1 designation type. Additionally, while the serial number on…

16 Dec

Great Lakes pilotage costs to rise 7 percent in 2025

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Pilots, Ports, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard published a final rule Friday in the Federal Register outlining U.S. Great Lakes pilotage rates for the 2025 shipping season. The new rates seek to generate revenue for each of the three U.S. Great Lakes pilot associations by implementing hourly charges for pilotage services according to geographic area. Pilotage rates are paid by vessel…

02 Sep

Study to analyze feasibility, safety of remote pilotage

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsNavigation, Pilots, safety

(LONDON) — The International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA), which represents over 50 member countries, is partnering with the Canadian National Center of Expertise on Maritime Pilotage (NCEMP) and the Canadian Coast Guard to explore remote pilotage to determine its feasibility, readiness and impacts on safe navigation practices and systems. The work aims to provide authoritative insights into the current and…

08 Aug

Proposal would raise Great Lakes pilotage rates 7 percent

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Pilots, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — On Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to increase the overall cost of U.S. Great Lakes pilotage in 2025 by $2.64 million, or 7 percent, compared to 2024. The new rates seek to generate revenue for each of the three U.S. Great Lakes pilot associations by implementing hourly charges for pilotage…

01 Jul

Charleston pilot honored for actions on runaway boxship

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPilots, U.S. Coast Guard

(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday presented the Meritorious Public Service Award to Christopher Thornton of the Charleston Branch Pilots Association for his commendable actions related to the uncontrolled acceleration of the containership MSC Michigan VII on June 5. Rear Adm. Douglas Schofield, commander, Coast Guard Seventh District, and Cmdr. Randy Preston, deputy commander, Coast Guard Sector…