From the bridge
RSSPractical maritime compliance.
Plain-English writing for commercial operators — USCG rules, Sub M, STCW, cyber, and the free tools we built along the way. No regulatory fog. No SEO filler.
Configuring an AIS Coverage Zone for Your Pilotage District (Any Bounding Box)
How to set up an AIS coverage zone for any pilotage district: bounding boxes, boarding points, transit times, and three worked examples.
CPA/TCPA and Unpiloted-Vessel Alerts: Collision-Risk Tooling for the Dispatch Board
ARPA-style collision math and a compulsory-pilotage watch, running on the dispatch board — so the conflict shows up before the VHF call does.
Tug Escort and Bollard Pull: Planning Assist for Laden Tankers
For a laden tanker in confined water, the escort tug is the last line of defense if steering or propulsion fails. Here's how escort differs from assist, what bollard pull actually buys you, and why the tug plan belongs in the transit record.
Tidal Windows and Slack Water: Timing the Transit
For a deep-draft ship in a shallow channel, the tide decides when she can move at all. Here's how tidal windows, slack water, and current set the dispatch clock — and why a board that's blind to the tide gives a dispatcher the wrong answer.
Tampa Bay Pilotage: Dispatch Across a Long, Shallow, Bridge-Spanned Bay
Tampa Bay is a long transit through a narrow dredged cut in shallow water, under the Sunshine Skyway, to three ports. Shallow margins, a long passage, and a bridge with a hard history make timing and clearance the dispatch priorities. Here's the challenge.
Subchapter M Compliance Software: What a Small Towing Fleet Actually Needs
Subchapter M turned towing into an inspected industry, and the paperwork burden lands hardest on small fleets without a compliance department. Here's what the rule actually demands day to day, and what to look for in software that carries it.
Subchapter K Small Passenger Vessel Compliance: COI, Crew, and Drills
Subchapter K covers small passenger vessels carrying more than 150 passengers or with overnight accommodations — a step up in burden from Subchapter T. Here's what the COI, manning, and drill requirements mean for a K-boat operator day to day.
Squat and Under-Keel Clearance: A Field Guide to Safe Speed in Confined Water
Squat has grounded more deep-draft ships in channels than almost anything else. Here's how squat works, the Barrass estimate pilots use in their head, how it eats your under-keel clearance, and how to back out a maximum safe speed.
Savannah River Pilotage: Dispatch on a Narrow, Winding, Fast-Growing River
Savannah is one of the fastest-growing container ports in the country, served by a narrow, winding river transit with bend after bend and strong currents. Growing volume on demanding water makes sequencing and awareness the dispatch priorities.
San Francisco Bar Pilotage: Dispatch Through Fog and the Golden Gate
San Francisco pilots board offshore at the Bar, then take ships through the Gate and a busy bay to Oakland, Richmond, and the rivers. Fog, current, and an offshore boarding ground make timing everything. Here's the dispatch challenge of the district.
Puget Sound Pilotage: Dispatch in a Busy, Multi-Port District
Puget Sound is the opposite problem from a remote inlet: not too little traffic to see, but a great deal of it, spread across many ports, threaded with ferries and a traffic separation scheme. Here's the dispatch challenge of a dense district and what helps.
Why Fleet-Tracking Software Doesn't Fit a Pilots Association
A pilots association has no fleet — it has a coverage zone and a stream of other people's ships. That single difference is why generic vessel-tracking software fails a dispatch desk, and what the right data model looks like instead.