Suezmax Tanker Northbound İstanbul Strait

105000t crude oil tanker, passing the Strait of Istanbul (Bosphorus) in november 2015. In the beginning you can see new bridge. More timelapse videos: Between sky and sea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHGlWcUBqtc Novorossiysk timelapse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_9YFEiJe6A Press like or follow me, if you liked it =)

As a rule, every pilot has the right to refuse an unsafe ladder. Safety first! A brave pilot is not the one who uses an unsafe ladder, but the one who, in case of doubt, asks for a different ladder or a different setting.
Unfortunately, too many pilots climb a dubious ladder when in doubt.

An entire day caught in a time lapse. Up and down the river twice.
Cool prospective 12000 TEU ship Turing min 2:00. !

by "Domonkos Baráth" on YouTube.
Boarding with pilot ladder to Soyo LNG tanker near Cadiz

Harbor Pilot Nasir Khan from Pakistan has sent his own checklist to Marine-Pilots.com - we share this list for our readers and look forward to an interesting discussion.

The latest summary from PTR Holland on the subject of pilot ladders. Here is the most important information on maintenance, use and replacement & insepection record book.

The hazards of Pilot boarding
Throughout 2016, the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) held a safety campaign focused upon the standard of pilot ladders and associated equipment. CHIRP supported this campaign and received many reports on the subject.
This first report describes issues concerning pilot access near
the non-parallel ends of a ship, and use of a retractable platform.

According to information from Simon Pelletier, President of IMPA, it was resolved at the IMO Maritime Safety Committee 106 on 08.11.2022 to open up the SOLAS Convention for amendment in respect of pilot boarding arrangements.

Breaux’s Bay Craft, Loreauville, La., delivered the new 90’x23’x12’4″ aluminum pilot boat Spindletop to the Sabine Pilots on March 6. The Sabine Pilots, Port Arthur, Texas, serve the Texas ports of Orange, Port Arthur and Beaumont. “This is the biggest pilot boat built in the U.S.,” said Roy Breaux, the shipyard’s owner. “There are bigger ones in other parts of the world, but this is the largest in the U.S.”

Article by Seyed Behbood Issa-Zadeh & Claudia Lizette Garay-Rondero