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.

Captain Jonathan Tennant has been called a hero for his decision to intentionally ground the Golden Ray, keeping it out of the main shipping channel.

Part one report on the collision on 8 November 2018 between the frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad and the oil tanker Sola TS outside the Sture Terminal in the Hjeltefjord in Hordaland county

U.S. Coastgard has published an update of their Recommendation for Pilot Transfer Arrangements in latest Marine Safety Information Bulletins (MSIB).

"Recent deaths of maritime pilots while embarking commercial vessels highlight the risks of operating in an
unforgiving maritime environment. To ensure the safety of all personnel boarding a vessel at sea, the Coast
Guard reminds vessel owners and operators of the requirements contained in the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter V, Regulation 23 and strongly recommends that owners and operators follow the recommendations within IMO Resolution A.1045(27) – Pilot Transfer Arrangements. "

Towage operator Svitzer recently took delivery of a new pilot boat from Western Australia-based boatbuilder Dongara Marine.

On this episode of What's Going On With Shipping, Sal Mercogliano - former merchant mariner and maritime historian at Campbell University - we compare and constrast the grounding and salvage of MV Ever Forward (March 13, 2022) with that of MV Ever Given (March 23, 2021).