Articles

Eray Demirkol, one of the pilots of the Dardanelles Strait General Directorate of Coastal Safety, fell from the pilot ladder into the sea while he was boarding the 176-meter bulk carrier 28653 DWT named "Lord Nelson".

It has been shown that a majority (51%) of pilot ladders is secured by means of D-shackles, when secured at intermediate length. Previous research (Evans, 2020) has proven that this method has only about 50% of the strength of the pilot ladder when secured at full length (“double ended ladder”), or by means of the “endless-sling” method.

The “DangerousLadder” page on facebook is nowadays a very well known community in the maritime world. It is steadily growing towards 3000 members, which will be the next milestone membership-wise.

The IMPA safety campaign on pilot ladders has run for a long time now. In this document the results of the IMPA safety campaign have been analyzed from 2016 to 2020.

The name tag plate on this ladder displays a few important items that can be cross referenced with the certificate: Type, Model, Length, Production date, as well as the serial number (Prod.No) and the approval standard.

In this article I would like to share my thoughts on this pilot ladder poster. Is it as good as we think or is there room for improvement? By taking you through this poster step by step I hope to explain what needs to be changed to make it similar to IMO an SOLAS regulations.

It has been exactly one year ago that a pilot from Sandy Hook (New York), Dennis Sherwood, died in the line of duty while attempting to board the container vessel Maersk Kensington.
What has happened since then? Has safety been improved for the pilots?

Recently Capt. Troy Evans did a research into the breaking strength of various securing methods. To quantify the problem of unsafe practices, now is time to have a survey into the number of the various securing methods used worldwide.

Video from Rob Munday Hoist Operator/Instructor at Blackcomb Helicopters & SR3 Rescue Concepts

New guidance for PBAs with trapdoors. Released 4.11.2020 at NZMPA Conference in Dunedin, NZ. Distinct difference to suggestions in many other countries, is that we challenge operators who have the ladder suspended from the accommodation ladder (gangway) and not secured to the ship. SOLAS states that pilot ladder shall be secured to the ship, and securing strongpoints, shackles and ropes shall be as strong as the sideropes.