Jacobsen Pilot Service and Los Angeles Pilot Station published a notice to all ships to inspect pilot ladders before the pilot boards.

Reason is an incident happened at the port of long beach in July 2020. Pilot ladder rope broke while the pilot was on the ladder - luckily the pilot was able to hold on.

August 2022, tanker Thun London and Foyle Leader pilot vessel. www.nightskyhunter.com

It is not often that this blog is used to show bad practice, however in this case some pictures tell a whole story. Ship is compliant by design for rigging a combination. How about the operator(s)?

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.

Pilot boat at Velsen-Noord crew prepares to join cruise ship Norwegian Prima.

Among the few marine professions that purse a man's technical skills and value very high, maritime piloting perhaps is in a class of its own. In this career, the pilot is entrusted to maneuver vessels through some of the most challenging and congested waterways while ensuring seamless integration between shipboard operations and port infrastructure.

A pilot of Sandy Hook, Dennis Sherwood fell off a ladder while boarding a ship today at 4:30 a.m. and died of his serious injury in Staten Island hospital.

#pilotboat #ship #seafarer
Pilot boat Virginia
Buhay seaman
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HDV video from a go pro on the mast of an Interceptor 48 Pilot boat at sea during hurricane force winds off Cork, Ireland in February 2014, as well as a few other HD go pro clips. Video by boat builders Safehaven Marine. www.safehavenmarine.com