Pilot going bridge to pilot seafers

River Pilot transfer on the lower Mississippi River

Like many seafarers I have long been a keen follower of The Nautical Institute’s MARS programme, and along with many other members I listened to the recent webinar on that topic. One theme which was repeated more than once was that it is better to learn from someone else’s misfortune rather than have it happen to you. Having personally been involved in two near misses resulting from unsafe pilot transfer arrangements in a relatively short space of time, I asked how experiences and knowledge specifically about pilot ladder safety could best be promulgated to avoid repeating common accidents or near misses.

Pilot boarding the Auto Carrier Mediterranean Highway inbound to Halifax Harbour.
Editors note:
"The pilot's greatest enemy is often the pilot himself: Please do not carry a backpack together with your life jacket! The backpack can massively hinder the deployment and the effect of the lifejacket!"
#pilotboarding #pilotboat #pilotboats #halifax #marinepilot #maritimepilot #nautical #boat #boats #sailors #novascotia #ocean #canada #ship #ships #halifaxharbour #pilots

The PDF of the second issue is available for download here

IMO: - Name: IRAGO 7 PILOT BOAT Vessel Type - Generic: Pilot Vessel Vessel Type - Detailed: Pilot Vessel Status: Active MMSI: 431005936 Call Sign: - Flag: Japan [JP] Gross Tonnage: - Summer DWT: - Length Overall x Breadth Extreme: 20 x 4 m Year Built: - Home Port: - https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:1246908/mmsi:431005936/imo:0/vessel:IRAGO_7_PILOT_BOAT

The fleets of container vessels storing more than 20,000 TEU is growing. Today the 20,000 TEU Club includes 69 vessels with a total capacity of 1,495,798 TEU.

Christening of new pilot tender "Mira" - a lightweight powerhouse Press Release Hoek van Holland, 2 April 2020 by Next Generation Shipyards On Thursday 2 April, Annebel de Deugd (interim manager fleet management of Nederlands Loodswezen), christened the new Dutch pilots’ tender Mira; one of the lightest tenders in the Nederlands Loodswezen fleet. Lighter than ever The instructions given by Nederlands Loodswezen to ship designer Camarc and shipbuilder Next Generation Shipyards had been clear:...

In the spring of 2023, the IMO Sub-commission on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR) may start a process of review and amendments to the SOLAS Ch V. reg 23