Lesath and Procyon. Pilot vessels at the Port of Rotterdam

This lady came into port in an excellent day, however when I inspected the pilot ladder prior to board I saw that it was rigged using D-Shackles fastened between the side ropes, transferring all the weight and load of the ladder to the clamps and chokes. Truly an unsuitable method of securing the ladder. Retrieval line was also not above the first spreader
After pulling out the pilot boat, the ship was contacted by VHF and the captain was asked to instruct the crew in the usage of ropes and...

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) and other individual MOB devices have been available for some years now and have evolved to incorporate a variety of different alerting methods and combinations. However, usage of these additional enhancements within UK Pilotage is still in its infancy.

Going down the accommodation ladder with neither lifevest nor safety line must have been based on similar, past, successful operations, which may have never been challenged on board. This ‘slippage’ in safety is a pernicious and common phenomenon.

On April 20, 2026, the Columbia River Bar Pilots conducted a MOB drill with the U.S. Coast Guard Station Astoria.

Oct. 13, 2022
Harbor pilot departing the NCL Prima in rough seas.

More on the power of Simulation and Training: https://pages.wartsila.digital/simulation-and-training-yt
ISTLAB photos by SAMK / Pekka Lehmuskallio

Raw footage of a an offshore Pilot transfer.
More pictures and an occasional video can be found at
https://instagram.com/sea_weathered?igshid=3qbu808ioyqf

This video shows an introduction on the Pull-out Test-Manoeuvre and describes the procedure how to steer through this simple manoeuvre: Turning circle and then put the rudder amidships. The final rate of turn allows to identify stable and unstable conditions.

A recent case reported by the International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) underscores how a seemingly minor oversight can lead to significant costs.

Drydocking or undocking is always a difficult task, particularly with a “dead” vessel (no power/propulsion) and the wind blowing on the ship's side.