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 the video shared, made by the Coast Guard communication department during the training days held at the Decimomannu and Pescara bases, some of the phases of the training, such as take-off-departure and 'winching' the pilot on board, are illustrated in sequence.

harbor pilots disembarking in Hong Kong
container ships - IKARIA and YM Excellence

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.

Delaware River Pilot Boat Transfers Pilot to Moving Ship - Delaware River - Philadelphia - May, 8, 2022

Editors note: There was a reason why this idea of a kind of ladder-elevator did not become accepted!

Cairns based Pilot Vessel underway outbound 19/9/21