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.
The Digital Master–Pilot Exchange Card: A Defensible Record of the Bridge Brief
When a loaded ship touches a dock, the P&I club asks what was agreed on the bridge. A sealed digital MPX answers it.
Pilotage Tariff Invoicing and Detention Billing: Stop Eating the Standby Time
Detention and standby are the most under-billed line on a pilotage invoice. Here's how to stop eating it and tie every charge back to the transit.
Rotation Equity: Settling the Fair-Share Dispute That Splits Pilots Associations
The deepest fight inside a pilots association isn't safety — it's whether turns and the lucrative jobs are shared fairly. Here's how to measure it.
Calculating ETA to the Boarding Point — and When to Launch the Pilot Boat
How a dispatch board turns AIS into a defensible ETA at the boarding ground, then fires the launch alert at the right minute — not too early, not too late.
Retiring the VHF Paper Board: Moving a Pilots Association to a Digital Dispatch Log
Why the VHF-plus-paper-board breaks on busy days, what a digital dispatch log fixes, and a change-management path that never puts the watch at risk.
How to Choose Dispatch Software for a Marine Pilots Association: A Buyer's Guide
What a pilots association should actually evaluate in dispatch software — AIS model, ETA accuracy, safety stack, rotation equity, billing, and the red flags to walk away from.
Bunker Fuel for Operators: ULSD vs MGO, the BDN Trap, and Why Hawaii Pays 30% More
$5/gal × 1,200 gal = $6,000 a voyage. Multiply across the fleet, and most operators are bleeding more on bunker timing than on payroll. A practical guide to what your engineer should be checking before he signs the BDN.