There are many things in both our everyday and professional lives which we take for granted and never question the origins of, an example of this might be the IMPA recommended ‘pilot mark or pilot line’, which is sometimes seen on the side of vessels indicating where a vessels freeboard exceeds 9 metres.

During the transit time on the pilot launch between the shore and the vessel, marine pilots will spend at least a portion of that time carrying out (either consciously or subconsciously) a risk assessment of the forthcoming operation.

Over the past few years a number of pilot transfer accidents have occurred resulting from total failure of the side ropes, one school of thought is that the methods of securing a pilot ladder is a factor in such occurrences.

#PilotVessel "CATAMARÁN ANTARES"/ On board #BulkCarrierShip "KENNADI" #ZonaComún #RioDeLaPlata #Argentina/ 29th. December 2024 - 17:15 Local Time.- On this video (with original sound), you can watch the Pilot Vessel "CATAMARÁN ANTARES", arrived at #boardingpoint #ZonaComún #RioDeLaPlata to change Pilots  (Disembarking Maneuver of the Rio de la Plata Pilots and Embarking Manuever of Rio Paraná Pilots).- This video was filmed on board the following Vessel: Bulk Carrier Ship "KENNADI" - Call...

This action seeks compensation for injuries he alleges have prematurely ended his career in shipping.

Recently Capt. Troy Evans did a research into the breaking strength of various securing methods. To quantify the problem of unsafe practices, now is time to have a survey into the number of the various securing methods used worldwide.

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

The Summer Edition of the Board of Pilotage Commissioners has published the latest edition of their quarterly report "The BPC Pilotage Quarterly"