Pilot ladders: Compliance by design, failure by operator

KITTIWAKE ( MMSI 232008570) is a Pilot and currently sailing under the flag of United Kingdom (UK) Here she is speeding down the River this morning.

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

Your Partner for maritime pilot trainings
Hamburg Port Services was based on an initiative launched by the Hamburg Harbour Pilots' Association and was founded on 19 August 2004. Our partner offers highly specialised shipping services. All experts have ...

Kiel Pilots introducing Morild Interaktiv AS Virtual Reality Simulator for next-level manoeuvring training.

Pilot transfer arrangement is a sensitive topic to be discussed among the pilot’s fraternity. Although ships are designed and operated with compliance to the SOLAS requirements in all respects including the pilot transfer arrangements, there has been numerous deficiencies observed related to pilot transfer arrangements. The small deficiencies from the part of ships cause life threatening accidents for pilots and sometimes to the ship staff themselves. There are many instances of defective ladder and complacency in proper rigging of ladders has been reported almost every day in different parts of the world. Many pilots lost their life, severely injured for life and face many minor to major accidents. The latest incident being the Capt. Timothy Murray of Sandy hooks Pilot.

The British Tugowners Association (BTA) in collaboration with the UK Chamber of Shipping has launched its new Pilots’ Pocket Guide and Checklist.

n preparation for future heavy load transports with the heavy load pontoon "BHV INNOVATION", BVT Chartering und Logistics GmbH were guests in the NAUTITEC ship simulator together with the Bremerhaven

Over the past two years, RightShip has reviewed more than 21,000 PSC inspections, assessed over 2,500 incidents, and inspected over 4,600 vessels. This is in addition to the reviewing a large number of SIRE reports as part of the vetting process. Despite the industry’s efforts and campaigns to educate, we have observed an upward trend in deficiencies and non-conformities involving pilot ladders and arrangements. The data gathered from RightShip Inspections indicates that the pilot ladder...

For 174 years, the San Francisco Bar Pilots have been safely navigating the world’s largest ships through some of North America’s most challenging waterways.