The sea pilots of Dunkirk's Grand Port Maritime have acquired an EC135 helicopter, equipped with a hoist and an integrated avionics system. It will replace an AS355 that first entered service at the facility in 2000.

Some 5,800 ships day and night every year are guided through the port's busy shipping lanes, 1,450 of which are assisted by the helicopter. Sea pilots at the port of Bordeaux have been using the EC135 for several years now.

When a ship arrives in the Dunkirk port area, the pilot station sends out an onboard pilot to guide the vessel to the port's entrance. Since 1990, nearly 35,000 ships have been served by helicopter, with 77 per cent employing a hoist for boarding.