Incident on 31 January 2020 : A rope of the pilot ladder breaks. Pilot could still reach the vessel

From that moment on I have been keeping a tally of the non compliant boarding arrangements I see in front of me on a daily base, and off course I participate in the annual safety campaign, conducted by IMPA each october.

A 35-year-old male sea pilot of the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) fell into the sea from a crude oil tanker near the N Shed Wharf in the port of Durban. A rope of the pilot ladder is said to have snapped for an undetermined reason when the man disembarked while leaving the crude oil tanker which was leaving the port of Durban.

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.

At the 27 October 2020 meeting, the Board reviewed the SHPA grant request for a pilot ladder climbing training program.

Finnpilot’s present six pilotage areas will be merged to form four pilotage areas. New District Managers have been appointed to head the pilotage areas. At the same time, an Operational Executive Committee will be established for Finnpilot. The organisational change, which was planned in close co-operation with the personnel, will take effect on 1 October 2020.

Welcome to our next episode of:- Pilot Talks... Pilot ki Baat..
Hosted by Capt. Vijay Sharma, Master Mariner @capt.vijay

According to information from Simon Pelletier, President of IMPA, it was resolved at the IMO Maritime Safety Committee 106 on 08.11.2022 to open up the SOLAS Convention for amendment in respect of pilot boarding arrangements.

Klaipeda is one among few seaports in Europe, where maritime pilots are able to carry out operations in remote mode. As it is attempted to avoid contact with other persons as much as possible during the quarantine, several trials have already been performed in the seaport. They revealed that such assistance for the vessels sailing in Klaipeda Port is effective and safe.

Pilot boat build by Safehaven Marine