On 1 July 2025 at 2306, two pilots boarded a 316-meter container ship near Mooloolaba for its passage through Moreton Bay to Brisbane. Due to strong winds exceeding berthing limits, the ship was instructed to anchor at the inner anchorage. By 0236, the ship was anchored northeast of the STS-2 anchorage. A pilot launch, already on site for other pilots, remained to transfer them ashore.
At 0255, after confirming the anchor held, the pilots prepared to disembark via a properly rigged pilot ladder. Conditions were difficult: 25–30 knot westerly winds, short 2-meter seas, and slack tide causing the vessel to yaw and expose both sides to the weather. The launch master initially found transfer conditions unsafe but, after the ship used its engine and bow-thruster to create a partial lee, judged the situation marginally acceptable.
At about 0310, one pilot descended the ladder and stepped onto the launch. A large wave pushed the launch away, and the pilot slipped overboard. His personal flotation device inflated, and man-overboard procedures were activated. Lifebuoys were deployed but out of reach; the launch then maneuvered close enough for recovery with its stern-mounted rescue scoop. The pilot was retrieved cold and exhausted but uninjured, and later taken to hospital for confirmation.
The transfer was suspended, with one pilot remaining aboard until conditions improved. The incident prompted safety actions: reinforcing training on stopping unsafe transfers, developing formal risk assessments for anchorage transfers, improving rescue preparedness through drills and in-water survival training, and equipping launches with thermal care kits.
Safety message:
Pilot transfers via ladder remain high-risk, especially from anchored ships where yawing and lack of lee complicate safe operations. Both pilots and launch crews must carefully evaluate conditions and have the authority to halt transfers when unsafe.
At 0255, after confirming the anchor held, the pilots prepared to disembark via a properly rigged pilot ladder. Conditions were difficult: 25–30 knot westerly winds, short 2-meter seas, and slack tide causing the vessel to yaw and expose both sides to the weather. The launch master initially found transfer conditions unsafe but, after the ship used its engine and bow-thruster to create a partial lee, judged the situation marginally acceptable.
At about 0310, one pilot descended the ladder and stepped onto the launch. A large wave pushed the launch away, and the pilot slipped overboard. His personal flotation device inflated, and man-overboard procedures were activated. Lifebuoys were deployed but out of reach; the launch then maneuvered close enough for recovery with its stern-mounted rescue scoop. The pilot was retrieved cold and exhausted but uninjured, and later taken to hospital for confirmation.
The transfer was suspended, with one pilot remaining aboard until conditions improved. The incident prompted safety actions: reinforcing training on stopping unsafe transfers, developing formal risk assessments for anchorage transfers, improving rescue preparedness through drills and in-water survival training, and equipping launches with thermal care kits.
Safety message:
Pilot transfers via ladder remain high-risk, especially from anchored ships where yawing and lack of lee complicate safe operations. Both pilots and launch crews must carefully evaluate conditions and have the authority to halt transfers when unsafe.
Occurrence Briefs by the ATSB are concise reports that detail the facts surrounding a transport safety occurrence, as received in the initial notification and any follow-up enquiries. They provide an opportunity to share safety messages in the absence of an investigation. Because occurrence briefs are not investigations under the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003, the information in them is de-identified.
