Webinar Dangerous Ladders - Capt. Arie Palmers

Before you, you see my third article on pilot boarding arrangements. After my two previous articles
(‘1000 ways to secure a pilot ladder’ and ‘1000 ladders around’, I have received a lot of feedback and
also questions to get deeper into the matter of combinations and embarkation platforms.

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

The international pilots association Impa is sounding the alarm about unsafe pilot ladders. According to the pilots, a worldwide survey has shown that access to the ship via the pilot's ladder often does not comply with the regulations.

AMSA: A pilot was seriously injured after losing balance when a large wave impacted the vessel at the same time as they stood up to remove their lifejacket while in the cabin.

10 years back in time: Port of London Authority Pilot Jon Stafford talks about his work and the challenges of guiding large ships safely into and out of the Port of London.

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.

According to many training experts, including Malcom Gladwell, from his book Outliers: Story of Success, 10.000 hours is the point in which a standard professional acquires the qualities necessary to perform any work with master skill.

In this article I would like to share my thoughts on this pilot ladder poster. Is it as good as we think or is there room for improvement? By taking you through this poster step by step I hope to explain what needs to be changed to make it similar to IMO an SOLAS regulations.

Here’s a cool little video we made during the sea trials of ‘Belgrano’ a new Interceptor 48 pilot for Montevideo, Uruguay. We captured some really nice drone footage of her offshore in some breaking seas and alongside ship manoeuvres, testing out her pilot boarding ladder and new fender system.