Incident on 31 January 2020 : A rope of the pilot ladder breaks. Pilot could still reach the vessel

The Norwegian Coastal Administration mobilized according to their contingency plan against acute pollution, salvage crews managed to get on board the drifting vessel Eemslift Hendrika and managed to connect it to the two tugboats, and the vessel is now being towed to harbour in Ålesund.

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?

The Ministry of Transport can confirm that the pilot boat, St David, was involved in a crash with a reef off of the Northeast Breaker Beacon on Thursday, May 6th, 2021 at 6:48am.

On 30 March 2023, a fatal accident occurred in the North Sea near IJmuiden during a pilot transfer from the pilot boat to a seagoing vessel.

The ship could not slow down and sailed against the Old North Lock - “Alte Schleuse Nord”.

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.

The collaboration between Coast Guard Hong Kong and Camarc Design, a fiberglass double-sided hull with auto-righting function, enhances the safety index in bad weather conditions. Length 17.3 meters. Two Cat c18 diesel engines drive 670 hp each

Another valuable explanatory video by Knud Benedict:
Zig-Zag-Test-Manoeuvre for Yaw Stability, IMO Manoeuvring Standards and Crash Stop

An innovative approach to marine pilotage recruitment and training has increased the breadth of skills and knowledge in our marine team and set us up for the long term.

Pilot Boat 68 heads out in choppy seas in the Dardanelles