Accommodation Ladder Load Testing

Watch and learn how a pilot boards a container ship before entering port.
In this video, a container ship bound for Houston, Texas is boarded by a Houston Pilot before entering the Houston Ship Channel.
#maritime #HoustonPilots #houstonshipchannel

Over the course of 4 days this August, I was afforded the opportunity and privilege of riding with the Savannah Bar Pilots for an article I was writing for a major maritime magazine. The pilots are given the responsibility of boarding a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean and safely navigating the vessel up the Tybee Road 9 (a name for the shipping lane that leads into the Savannah River), into the Savannah River, and into the Port of Savannah. The same is done in reverse when a ship is outbound...

‘It certainly hurts – using the integrated lifting sling on a life jacket.’

It has been shown that a majority (51%) of pilot ladders is secured by means of D-shackles, when secured at intermediate length. Previous research (Evans, 2020) has proven that this method has only about 50% of the strength of the pilot ladder when secured at full length (“double ended ladder”), or by means of the “endless-sling” method.

March 8th 20201. Bulk carrier Camila outbound from Lough Foyle after carrying grain to Foyle Port at Lisahally. For this video I focused on the Foyle Leader and Foyle Pilots as they chased the ship to the outer portion of the lough where it enters the open sea.

The pilot boat Lesath brings the harbor pilot to the Allegro. It was windy and the sea was rough, the conditions where not extremely, but the boarding is not whitout risk.
This video is created 2 days after storm Ciara in the Port of Rotterdam. This was also the first day that the containerterminals where open after the storm.
Shipspotting Rotterdam,
Enjoy

Issues like the Covid 19 crisis and the moves towards increased autonomy appear to be driving a renewed interest in Shore Based Pilotage (SBP), nowadays often called Remote Pilotage.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the International Maritime Health Association (IMHA) and the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) issued new protocols to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 cases on board.

Montrose Port Authority's new pilot boat was welcomed by water cannons as it arrived at its new home at the port of Montrose on Thursday 22nd December, making its journey from Ireland where the boat was constructed.
Read more about the pilot boat arrival on the Montrose Port Authority website: https://montroseport.co.uk/2022/12/23/pilot-boat-new/