Lianyungang (China) Pilot embarking

London Pilots (PLA) have issued an excellent quick reference guide for Pilot Transfer arrangements, which can be used for pilots as well as ship’s crews. Please take not of this document and if you can, try to incorporate it into your procedures.

by Finnpilot Pilotage Oy
Luotsi nousee Perämerellä talvella alukseen ja poistuu aluksesta

Columbia River Bar pilot transfer using helicopter from Articulated Tug and Barge Island Monarch / Island Trader, April 29, 2021 near Astoria, Oregon, USA.

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!

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.

The Dutch freighter "Eemslift Hendrika", which was in distress at sea, was secured on Thursday night. Salvage crews succeeded in boarding the ship and connecting it to two tugboats. This was announced by the Norwegian Coastal Administration. It will now be towed to the harbour of the Norwegian city of Ålesund.

At the mouth of the Columbia River lies "The Graveyard of the Pacific"—the deadliest river bar crossing on earth. To get a massive cargo ship safely through these crushing waves, an elite Bar Pilot has to board a moving ship by climbing a rope ladder and get's hoisted off the ship by helicopter 10 miles off shore in the Pacific Ocean. In this episode of What do you Wanna Cook?: PORTS UNKNOWN, we get you as close to the action as humanly possible. We take you inside the cockpit for an...

The name tag plate on this ladder displays a few important items that can be cross referenced with the certificate: Type, Model, Length, Production date, as well as the serial number (Prod.No) and the approval standard.

Training video V on the correct use of the pilot ladder