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...
*Testing out a new camcorder. A Canon Vixia HFG70. Picture is fantastic. Shot in 1920x1080p at 60FPS. However, the external (add-on) microphone is terrible. Going to replace it with a much better one.*
Marine pilots boarding the ms Eurodam in three locations. Nassau, Bahamas. Amber Cover, Dominican Republic. Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. Did you know that Grand Turk does not have a pilot? I did not know that. Enjoy.
Yes I know I made the "Bahamas" possessive. It's a mistake.
It has been shown that a majority (51%) of pilot ladders is secured by means of D-shackles, when secured at intermediate length. Previous research (Evans, 2020) has proven that this method has only about 50% of the strength of the pilot ladder when secured at full length (“double ended ladder”), or by means of the “endless-sling” method.
SOLAS/IMO/IMPA Regulations require additional safety measurements for pilot's boarding and disembarkation since recently. These magnetic holders of two types, one is manually set and the other is a remotely controlled one, fixes both pilot ladder and accommodation ladder (gangway) strongly onto the hull of the ship. Thus, the pilot can climb more safely. We are negotiating with ISO, IMO, IMPA etc in order to standardize these items for pilot safety.
