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

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.

Brief footage of a maritime pilot disembarking the Disney Magic and boarding his pilot boat as we left Nassau in January 2022.

Going down the accommodation ladder with neither lifevest nor safety line must have been based on similar, past, successful operations, which may have never been challenged on board. This ‘slippage’ in safety is a pernicious and common phenomenon.

PTR Holland - TV Rijnmond 2003

Pilot tender GRODEN on 16.12.2020 on the river Weser at Brake Unterweser to Cuxhaven - 4K VIDEO