Pilot Embarkation - Gangway Access - Unsafe Practice at Sea CHIRP Maritime Safety

Watch and learn how a pilot boards a container ship before entering port.
In this video, a container ship bound for Houston, Texas is boarded by a Houston Pilot before entering the Houston Ship Channel.
#maritime #HoustonPilots #houstonshipchannel

Over the course of 4 days this August, I was afforded the opportunity and privilege of riding with the Savannah Bar Pilots for an article I was writing for a major maritime magazine. The pilots are given the responsibility of boarding a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean and safely navigating the vessel up the Tybee Road 9 (a name for the shipping lane that leads into the Savannah River), into the Savannah River, and into the Port of Savannah. The same is done in reverse when a ship is outbound...

In this article I would like to share my thoughts on this pilot ladder poster. Is it as good as we think or is there room for improvement? By taking you through this poster step by step I hope to explain what needs to be changed to make it similar to IMO an SOLAS regulations.

This is a video I had captured off U.S Coast from a merchant vessel as the Pilot was transferred from our Ship to Shore via Helicopter.
All recordings were done using N8 (unbelievable clarity!)

A valuable campaign managed by Chris Young, Kevin Vallance and others, which we found on Facebook .

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

Pilot on-board on ship | YM- WELLBEING | Fleet Ship Mangement (ISM MANAGER) Catalina Shipping SA (Registred Owner) YM WELLBEING (IMO: 9820908) is a Container Ship that was built in 2018 (3 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Panama. It’s carrying capacity is 14000 TEU and her current draught is reported to be 11.4 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 366.44 meters and her width is 51.34 meters. Please like , share , subscribe & support my channel | Sea Soul | 🤗 #marchantnavy...

When I was a deck officer back in the early nineties I worked on a ship that used to load grain at different ports along the Mississippi river. The name of the ship was Golden Hope, a 600 feet long dry bulk carrier with a 95 feet in beam. An average size vessel for those days' standards.

Each pilot association and each country can get a good overview of how other colleagues approach safety.
Ship crews can see which rules apply in which country.
In any case, this list from IMPA is worth looking through and reading.