Joergen Andersen’s commute is unlike most. The 62-year-old Danish marine pilot usually approaches his workplace by boat, then climbs a 30-foot rope ladder dangling from the side of a ship in rolling seas.
Before he starts the climb, Andersen instructs the boat to either stay alongside or peel away in case he falls. He always chooses the latter.
“I’d rather land in water than on iron pipes and a metal hull,” he said.
Soon, that decision may be irrelevant. New technology is allowing pilots like Andersen to guide ships without ever stepping aboard—safe, dry, and on shore.
A centuries-old job goes digital
Marine pilots are highly trained navigators who board vessels in all weather to steer them through hazardous waters and into port. Andersen is among the first to trial remote pilotage—a system that lets pilots virtually “board” ships from land.
Advocates say the approach could save fuel, cut costs, and reduce emissions by eliminating the need for ships to slow down for pilot transfers. It could also help offset a looming shortage of pilots as fewer seafarers enter or remain in the profession, even in countries with long maritime traditions such as Denmark.
Brian Schmidt Nielsen, head of Danish pilot service DanPilot’s remote pilotage project, says it’s also a safety upgrade.
From rope ladder to control room
On a July night, Andersen traded his rope ladder for a desk chair in a docked houseboat nearly 40 miles west of the Kattegat, the shallow, sandbar-filled sea between Denmark and Sweden.
At 9 p.m., via video link, he connected with the Venta Maersk, a container ship en route from Finland to Germany. His six-monitor setup displayed the vessel’s speed, planned route, radar images, and local navigation hazards—data streamed directly from the ship’s voyage data recorder, the maritime equivalent of a black box.
For eight hours, Andersen and a colleague guided the crew past sandbars, lobster boats, and other ships toward the North Sea. Because they weren’t aboard, they relied on the crew to maintain visual lookout.
This Danelec-developed system is the first to transmit onboard ship data directly to shore-based pilots. In Rotterdam, Dutch pilots use shore radar, but not full onboard integration.
Safety, risk, and skepticism
Boarding ships at sea remains dangerous. Last month, a 66-year-old Belgian pilot was seriously injured after falling 20 feet from a ladder onto a pilot boat in the Netherlands. According to the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA), fewer than two pilots die each year worldwide, out of more than 3.5 million transfers, but “individual incidents are unacceptable,” said IMPA secretary general Matthew Williams.
Not all pilots are convinced remote systems are the answer. Some see them as part of a broader push toward automation that threatens maritime jobs, echoing labor disputes over autonomous ships, cranes, and port equipment. In November, the U.S.-based International Longshoremen’s Association will host its first Global Anti-Automation Conference in Portugal.
Williams says the IMPA is exploring remote pilotage cautiously. The group is studying the technology with the Canadian Coast Guard and the National Centre of Expertise on Maritime Pilotage for the St. Lawrence River.
“If there are situations where it can enhance or complement pilotage, we should explore them,” he said.
Looking ahead
Interest is growing from pilots in Australia, Singapore, Finland, Sweden, and beyond, according to DanPilot CEO Erik Merkes Nielsen. The company is submitting test data to Danish authorities and independent reviewers, aiming to roll out remote pilotage on certain routes by late 2026.
The next step: enabling complex maneuvers. DanPilot is testing drones equipped with video, infrared, and night vision to give remote pilots visibility even in dense fog.
Merkes Nielsen insists the technology won’t eliminate pilot jobs—vessels incompatible with the system will still require onboard guidance, and remote operations will still rely on pilot expertise.
“It won’t always mean going out in bad weather and climbing a risky ladder,” he said. “It’s a transformation of the role, not the end of it.”