Marine Officer (Pilot) / Barry, GB

On August 5, 2020 at approximately 10:30 pm, Sandy Hook Pilot Captain Timothy M. Murray was involved in an incident while boarding a tanker vessel inbound to the Port of New York & New Jersey. He sustained injuries after falling from a pilot ladder and was evacuated to a local hospital where his injuries proved to be fatal.

River Bann pilots transfer from Athos to pilot vessel Ulidia at Barmouth, River Bann. N. Ireland

Currently, several means of transport are undergoing an accelerated development towards automation and automated movements. This development will also impact future ship handling with tugs. A glimpse into the future of tug boat operation.

The CMA CGM JACQUES SAADE joins the fleet: the first 23,000 TEU container vessel in the world to be powered by liquefied natural gas.

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) upcoming amendments to SOLAS Chapter V, Regulation 23, represent a significant step forward in enhancing the safety of pilot ladder operations.

Turkish Straits , Istanbul Strait , Maritime Pilot , www.turkishpilots.org.tr

A ride along with a harbor pilot as he guided a cargo ship from Galveston Bay through the Houston Ship Channel into a port on Buffalo Bayou.

Stanchions therefore are an often-overlooked part of a pilot transfer arrangement and therefore I
want to give them more attention in this article. They proved to be the cause of a whole series of accidents, some of which were even fatal.

This expert article is based on a presentation given by Capt. Pilot Sven Stemmler at the MCN's (Maritimes Cluster Norddeutschland e. V. ) event ‘On the Future of the Pilot Profession’ at Fraunhofer CML in Hamburg on 9 September 2025.