Miguel Vieira de Castro started his career at sea in 1990 as Second Officer on general cargo, ro-ro and bulk carriers. He went on to become Chief Officer on VLCCs and LPGs, and later Harbour Pilot.

He currently works as a Harbour Pilot in Portugal’s largest port, Sines, which handles more than 50% of the country’s cargo, where he is a Senior Pilot and manoeuvres all types of vessels without restrictions. He is also a member of the port’s working group on sustainability, alternative fuels and energy transition.

He has attended all EMPA General Assemblies since 2004 and the IMPA Congress since 2006.

In 2013, he also took on the role of Professor at the Portuguese Nautical Academy, where he teaches Port and Maritime Technology, Maritime Safety and Stevedoring Systems in the Master’s and Bachelor’s degree courses, as well as technical and safety consultant and internal auditor for the ISO 9001, 14001 and OSHAS 18001 standards.

He was elected Vice President of APIBARRA in 2006 and Vice President of the European Maritime Pilots Association (EMPA) in 2015. He is also President of the Portuguese Association of Maritime Pilots (APIBARRA) and has been Senior Vice-President of EMPA for the last 9 years. In 2017, he became Chairman of the Technical and Training Committee.