#DangerousLadders on Facebook

Before you, you see my third article on pilot boarding arrangements. After my two previous articles
(‘1000 ways to secure a pilot ladder’ and ‘1000 ladders around’, I have received a lot of feedback and
also questions to get deeper into the matter of combinations and embarkation platforms.

Jacobsen Pilot Service and Los Angeles Pilot Station published a notice to all ships to inspect pilot ladders before the pilot boards.

Reason is an incident happened at the port of long beach in July 2020. Pilot ladder rope broke while the pilot was on the ladder - luckily the pilot was able to hold on.

There are many things in both our everyday and professional lives which we take for granted and never question the origins of, an example of this might be the IMPA recommended ‘pilot mark or pilot line’, which is sometimes seen on the side of vessels indicating where a vessels freeboard exceeds 9 metres.

Despite clear regulations and regular maintenance requirements, safety often falls by the wayside, as the current example of a bulk carrier vividly demonstrates.

According to media reports from Taiwan, a collision between an OOCL vessel and a Gantry Crane occurred today (03.06.2021).

To monitor the vessel’s progress, the pilot had set up his portable pilotage unit (PPU). He had connected the rate-of-turn generator to the vessel’s pilot plug and had set a variable range marker on the radar with a radius of 0.5 nm.

A marine pilot who sadly died after a ‘fall from a pilot ladder’ in the Humber Estuary has now been named. Video credit: BBC Look North/BBC News Hub

IMPA has just released the results of the annual IMPA safety campaign, please have a look at the document. This year the non-compliances worldwide vary from 5% up to 70%....You can check your working area in the attachment.

This ship is a legend: The pilot schooner "No. 5 Elbe" is the oldest operating seagoing ship in Hamburg. Furthermore, the "white lady" is a real beauty. That's why it's a tragedy what happened on Pentecost Saturday: The two-master collided with a container ship and sank!