New guidance for PBAs with trapdoors. Released 4.11.2020 by NZMPA

The next step for NZMPA is to issue a set of regulator-endorsed guidance notes. The first version will focus on accommodation ladders used in conjunction with pilot ladders.

ABP Southampton: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that some ships have a pilot transfer arrangement consisting of an accommodation ladder / pilot ladder combination with a trapdoor that does not meet IMO standards in effect since at least 2012.

On August 5, 2020 at approximately 10:30 pm, Sandy Hook Pilot Captain Timothy M. Murray was involved in an incident while boarding a tanker vessel inbound to the Port of New York & New Jersey. He sustained injuries after falling from a pilot ladder and was evacuated to a local hospital where his injuries proved to be fatal.

What is causing the forward motion of a stopped vessel using continous bow thruster action?
by Capt. H. Cauvier

OHB Digital Solutions GmbH develops systems for monitoring the GNSS frequency bands as well as detection, classification and localization of intentional or unintentional interference sources. Many stakeholders and applications as well as critical infrastructure providers are relying on GNSS to provide their services. Since Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are widely used in safety and value critical applications, GIDAS detects, classifies and localizes any GNSS interference...

The technology group Wärtsilä will supply a complete navigational simulator upgrade for the Le Havre pilot station in France. The intention is to provide the pilot station with a totally new simulator specifically adapted to the requirements of the pilots’ operations. The order with Wärtsilä was placed in February 2020.The new unique visualisation system to be supplied is based on 14 DP projectors, comprising seven main circular and seven ground projection systems. It features a panoramic 350-degree screen.

Matthias Meyer was head of the Bremerhaven port pilots, nautical expert and lecturer at maritime schools. In front of our camera, he voices what has long been a topic of discussion in shipping circles: that the 400-meter container ships have simply become too big for the narrow shipping channels of the Weser and Elbe. In his view, a serious accident is only a matter of time. We take a look at how the district is dealing with these giants and what politicians, BUND and shipowners have to say...

Report by nC2 Engineering Consultancy at the University of Southampton on behalf of the International Maritime Pilots' Association (IMPA) to investigate the effectiveness and impact of different methods of securing pilot ladders in medium lengths in a laboratory-based project.

London Pilots (PLA) have issued an excellent quick reference guide for Pilot Transfer arrangements, which can be used for pilots as well as ship’s crews. Please take not of this document and if you can, try to incorporate it into your procedures.