Language warning, better yet, watch it on mute, the guy is annoying.
And up until today, I never knew the existence of a harbor pilot and their role. Obviously, I don’t spend much time around water.
I like this definition, which was the first result I found on Google:
A Harbor Pilot is an Air Traffic Controller for the sea, minus the part where they doze off in the middle of a shift. As a merchant ship pulls into port, the Harbor Pilot climbs aboard and helps guide it safely to shore. During this process, the ship’s Captain never relinquishes control.
Per this 2012 NPR article:
The giant ships cannot enter the port without the assistance of a harbor pilot, who boards the towering vessels in open seas. The average salary of harbor pilots nationwide is more than $400,000.
I was a radio operator at a Coast Guard station. Any time a tanker or cargo vessel was coming into port, the harbor pilot would call in to let us know the ship they were on was about to enter the ship channel