Lesath and Procyon. Pilot vessels at the Port of Rotterdam

February 23, 2020.
During high seas, smaller ships board Maritime Pilots in the mass entrance to Port of Rotterdam.

Most pilot embarkations and disembarkations around the world, are still carried out using a traditional pilot ladder, consisting of wooden steps supported and secured by side ropes.

The pilot for the port of Cairns jumping off the pilot boat and getting onto the cruise ship. 
Carnival Luminosa December 2024 

Pilot boarding submarine HNLMS Bruinvis at North East Spit pilot station.
Pilot Captain Chris Renault.

Most harbours require a pilot taking control of the bridge when entering or leaving their harbour, since currents, shoals and traffic maybe tricky. The busy harbour of Las Palmas is no exception to this rule and in this clip you see how these pilots are on standby day and night to safely accompany incoming and outbound ships. Now that the pilot has secured our safe exit from the harbour we are on our own again and ready to head South towards our first station! See: https://www.nioz.nl/en/...

Pilot transferring is unsafe and dangerous by Harbor Tug Boat from or to the ship. I analyzed and observed at many ports, Pilots using Harbor Tug Boat for transferring. Where Tug boats decks are not specially designed for the Pilot transferring. This is difficult for the Pilot during Embarkation and specially Disembarkation. Video courtesy Nasir Khan. Find Capt. Pilot Nasir Khan on Marine-Pilots.com: https://www.marine-pilots.com/members/112390

Boarding a vessel at sea is no simple task. This video provides detailed instructions and demonstrations about safe boarding of vessels.

Download and view satellite images of sea-ice on your mobile device or PC within an intuitive map-based interface.

A counterfeit ladder is a pilot ladder that purports to be a genuine approved ladder, from a manufacturer that has been certified by an approved body in the manufacture of pilot ladders to a certified standards.