UK Ports and Pilots take firm stand against Non-compliant Trap Door Boarding arrangements

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.

During the transit time on the pilot launch between the shore and the vessel, marine pilots will spend at least a portion of that time carrying out (either consciously or subconsciously) a risk assessment of the forthcoming operation.

Over the past few years a number of pilot transfer accidents have occurred resulting from total failure of the side ropes, one school of thought is that the methods of securing a pilot ladder is a factor in such occurrences.

Let us see how a maritime pilot is transferred by helicopter to a ship. In this video, we discuss briefly some procedures in a helicopter/ship operation for the transfer of pilots.

Pilot going onboard, using pilot ladder port side, 1,5 meters above the water.

The Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis has released Marine Safety Alert 05-21, to notify mariners to a potentially dangerous situation involving corrosion of the turntable pin on accommodation ladders.

Fathom Safety now offers an online course on Pilot Ladder Training

Boat to boat Pilot transfer, to the Pilot Vessel Golden Gate, under the Golden Gate Bridge.

What does a Bristol Pilot do? This is a short film we made for Bristol Pilots LLP to show what it is these guys do - from climbing up the side of oil tankers in the middle of the night, to bringing in huge ships through a lock with inches to spare either side - the Bristol Pilots do an amazing job.

The transfer of pilots to and from seagoing vessels should not rely solely on mutual trust and good intentions.