Mississippi River Pilot transfer off of south bound ship in the Mississippi River below New Orleans to a Pilot Boat. Pilots climb down rope ladder onto the top of the Pilot Boat while both boats are underway.

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

The pilot boat next to the ship after dropping off the Harbour Pilot

The seaport of Nouakchott, Mauritania, is experiencing problems related to wind and swell, risks of grounding due to unreliable berth depths, harbour infrastructure damage claims, an acceptance of the vessel's draught survey figures and shortage claims.

The desire to improve efficiency and crew comfort has resulted in a new approach to hull design. Built from the ground up this new Pilot Boat design utilises an Extra Long Waterline (XLW) to maximise the waterline length.

Next generation of Navigation. This video shows the new technologies put up on Navigation. #ecdis #lifeatsea #seafarer