A Brief Comparison of the 2021 and 2022 IMPA Safety Campaigns

As my colleagues know, IMPA conducts a “safety campaign” in the fall every year. The 2022 safety survey report was released a few days ago. First of all, we would like to thank the pilots who participated in this survey from all over the world. It is commendable to contribute to this work for our profession and therefore for our survival. And a thank you to the IMPA Family. The members of the IMPA family that hold us together play an important role here. It is our duty to analyze these reports well. Going over the problem areas in the report and solving them should be our first task. We have people to cooperate, get help, have things to tell, in short, we have a lot to do. Let's not neglect them. Below you will find a brief comparison of the reports for the years 2021 and 2022.

In 2022, the number of pilots participating in the research is higher. 1342 participation is a serious number. However, the number of non compilant  reports has also increased. The number of increasing reports is 337. Thus, the overall average of non compliant reports increased from 13.43% to 16.79%.

Non compliant reports were in the ship types (in %) in 2021 fishing, rig supply ship, general cargo, 80.95/ 23.53/ 15.16, while respectively, in 2022, fishing, reefer and general cargo (in %) were 55.17/ 27.59/ 23.13.

The means of transfer was respectively in 2021 (in %) combination, side door and pilot ladder, pilot ladder, 14.97 / 13.36 / 13.34, while in 2022 (in %) the combination, pilot ladder, helicopter 17.40 / 17.26 / 14.9 . The increase in helicopters is remarkable.

The number of non compliant reports increased by 337 between the two years. While the rate of reporting non compliant equipment to the administration was 10.31% in 2021, this rate increased to 12.13 % in 2022. Although the increase is positive, this number is not enough. Among the reasons for this, the perception that the administrations will not show the necessary attention to these reports can be put forward. In this regard, the administrations should act more aggressively and encourage the pilots. Simpler and more convenient systems need to be put in place to report inappropriate ladders to the administration.

Non compliant pilot transfer equipment comes in 2021, pilot ladder, bulwark and deck, safety equipment 51.32 / 19.21 / 15.89 respectively. In 2022, the same sequence was preserved and the following ratios were found, respectively: 55.27/ 23.56/ 12.43. As can be seen, the nonconformity starts a few meters away from the pilot's boat and continues until the moment of landing on the deck. These 2-3 minutes are of vital importance for the pilot. It is clear that we need to focus here. We must pay attention to this process.

The defects on the pilot's ladder in 2021 are poorly rigged retrieval line, other reasons and non-horizontal steps, respectively. The numbers for 2021 are: 29.83, 16.95, 14.32. In 2022, these numbers were 31.12, 24.73, 12.50.

The situation in defects of bulwark and deck is unfortunately the same. In 2021, it is the ladder that is not secured properly (65.41) and no/faulty handhold stanchions (25.56). In 2022, the numbers are 61.89 and 27.17 respectively.

Situation in combination ladder defects: The 2022 numbers are not good compared to the previous year.

Finally, as seen in the table above, the first and fourth rows of the table are negative, while the second, third and fourth rows are positive.

I hope this short comparison will be useful for you, I take this opportunity to congratulate you on Christmas and New Year, my dear colleagues.

“Always stay safe”

Maritime Pilot / İzmit Bay, Türkiye

Board Member of Turkish Maritime Pilot Assication