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Yeah, like you said it's SOP. In Hamburg, Germany any ship above 90 meters gets a specialized pilot to navigate the port, there is a logistical network in place to shuttle those pilots to and from the ships they are needed on. You are not allowed to navigate your ship in the port without one.

It's a highly specialized job and it's the dream of most seafaring folk around here - study nautics, become first officer for a couple of years, become captain and travel the world, after TEN years you qualify for the special pilot training and then you get the dream job of being paid like a captain but sleep at home every night.