Batangas Harbor Pilot on call - From home to work

Video by Capt.Harold Janda

What does it take to become a Harbor Pilot in the Philippines

Pilot transfer arrangement is a sensitive topic to be discussed among the pilot’s fraternity. Although ships are designed and operated with compliance to the SOLAS requirements in all respects including the pilot transfer arrangements, there has been numerous deficiencies observed related to pilot transfer arrangements. The small deficiencies from the part of ships cause life threatening accidents for pilots and sometimes to the ship staff themselves. There are many instances of defective ladder and complacency in proper rigging of ladders has been reported almost every day in different parts of the world. Many pilots lost their life, severely injured for life and face many minor to major accidents. The latest incident being the Capt. Timothy Murray of Sandy hooks Pilot.

"Analysis of reports indicates that pilot ladders (Pilot Transfer Arrangements, or PTAs) and
intentional deviations from safety procedures remain the main causes of near misses..."

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...

RightShip continues its webinar series on pilot ladder arrangements. On September 18th, they´re asking two marine pilots to share their first-hand perspectives on pilot ladder arrangement best practices.

Exemplary manoeuvre: The pilot should always walk on the side of the pilot boat facing away from the vessel. This prevents the pilot from being trapped between the two vessels in the event of a fall into the water.

After a number of cruises in which I have watched with admiration and fascination as the harbor pilots do their magic. This is a short video showing the operation upon the departure of the Sapphire Princess from Kleipeda, Lithuania in the summer of 2026.
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Fremantle Ports in Western Australia has awarded local boatbuilder Dongara Marine a contract for the construction of two new pilot boats.