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

Great video from Argentina. But a backpack is not recommended in combination with a life vest.

Harbor Pilot is a short film from 1967 that gives viewers a brief look at what a harbor pilot is and does. The film opens with footage of a sailboat sailing at sea, followed by a shot of a rocky coastline (01:10) and then an aerial view of a modern harbor — the Port of Los Angeles. A large freight ship, SS Gemstone, is out at sea. A harbor pilot stands on land at the Port of Los Angeles, looking out over the harbor. He walks into the pilot station at the entrance to the harbor to check the...

"A performance assessment tool for maritime pilotage operations" - by Jørgen Ernstsen, Norway
When the ship is approaching or leaving a port, a local navigational expert, the pilot, is often provided for assisting the bridge team to safely and efficiently navigate the littoral waters.

Editors Note:
Safety is different
One comment on YouTube on this video:
"No hard hats, no Hi-Viz clothing (in case pilot falls in) the one at 5:16 has not even got a life jacket - absolute cowboys!"

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.

It remains a sad fact that accidents and near misses continue to occur during pilot transfers with frightening regularity. Most of these fortunately do not result in injury, and a surprisingly high number of them are not even recognised for what they are.

Surveys into pilot ladder safety consistently reveal that unacceptably high numbers of pilot transfer arrangements are not compliant with the regulations.