Safe boarding of vessels

Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) and other individual MOB devices have been available for some years now and have evolved to incorporate a variety of different alerting methods and combinations. However, usage of these additional enhancements within UK Pilotage is still in its infancy.

SeaSafe - Marine pilot falling off a ships ladder with his integrated life jacket coat

"Rope Ladders" by PTR Holland

We have reached Port Said at the northern end of the Suez Canal. Could not have been a more enjoyable adventure. Thank you Suez Canal Authority for the two excellent pilots, specially Emad, and the support specially at Ismailia.
Editor's note:
Other countries, other habits: especially when it comes to safety standards. Life jackets, for example, are not to be seen here.

#sea #ship #merchantnavy #loodswezen #maritimepilot #ocean #oceanship #pilot #tanker

Exemplary manoeuvre: The pilot should always walk on the side of the pilot boat facing away from the vessel. This prevents the pilot from being trapped between the two vessels in the event of a fall into the water.

The “DangerousLadder” page on facebook is nowadays a very well known community in the maritime world. It is steadily growing towards 3000 members, which will be the next milestone membership-wise.

We take a look at some of the dangerous ladder arrangements provided by ships when attempting to take maritime pilots on board. Our message is simple: if you are offered an unsafe or non-compliant ladder, do not board!

Yellow Magnet with Sling to secure Pilot Ladder

The Tampa Bay pilot association has returned its first Chesapeake Class pilot boat to Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding. Tampa was built in 2003 when the shipyard introduced the class of mid-size, high-speed launches.