UK's Falmouth Harbour welcomes new pilot boat

Falmouth Harbour in the UK recently took delivery of a new pilot boat built by Holyhead Marine Services in Wales. Named Atlantic, the newbuild replaces LK Mitchell, a 46-year-old pilot boat that had been serving the harbour and is now being operated by its new owner on the west coast of Scotland.

The 16.6-metre Atlantic was acquired for approximately £1.6 million (US$2 million), making it one of the largest investments by the harbour commission in nearly 20 years.

Falmouth Harbour CEO Miles Carden said the new pilot boat is IMO Tier III-compliant and that it will run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as an alternative low-emission fuel.

Atlantic adopts a dedicated pilot vessel configuration with an aft wheelhouse and a forward engine room. This gives the boat a design speed of over 22 knots, a range of over 250 nautical miles, and 30 greater efficiency than its predecessor.

Power is provided by two Scania four-stroke engines that are fitted with a selective catalytic reduction system and that will initially run on diesel. Following additional trials, the engines will switch to using HVO.