Hwalein Marine Pilot got accident while boarding

Video: Climbing the pilot ladder, the pilot is hit by Pilot Boat.

An authentic report by Marine Pilot Capt. Agha Umar Habib (Port of Sohar, Oman) about a dramatic incident on July 23, 2019.

Ladders are the bridges for crossing the rough seas of our lives.
When you are a Marine Pilot at work, hoping and praying that the ladders which let you embark the vessel are stable, safe and not dangerous.
In Memoriam of the late Captain Dennis Sherwood who passed away on Monday the 30th of December.

NTSB issued an investigation report on the contact of tow William C with a Rock Island railroad bridge protection cell, on Des Plaines River, in January 2020. The investigation established that high speed prevented the pilot to correct the tow’s position after completing the transit through the previous bridge.

Going down the accommodation ladder with neither lifevest nor safety line must have been based on similar, past, successful operations, which may have never been challenged on board. This ‘slippage’ in safety is a pernicious and common phenomenon.

Based on MAIB Safety Digest 1/2025, Case 12, published April 2025 by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

Case Study Video:
BHP - a global mining company and port owner – asked us to develop a test set-up to see what happens during a snapback event and evaluate their safety protection fence. The test data helped in the development of a safer protection fence and gave real insight into snapback behaviour.
Collaboration with BHP, Geobrugg and Wilhelmsen.

Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure has supplied its advanced navigation and piloting solutions for pilotage applications to facilitate the safe and efficient berthing of vessels and to increase safety of larger vessels at Peel Ports Group.

The maritime industry has long been a domain of tradition, resilience, and technical excellence. But if we look at its human makeup, particularly with regards to maritime pilotage, one question glares us in the face with uncomfortable clearness: where are the women?