Marine Pilot / Gabon

Associated British Ports (ABP) will upgrade its recently acquired pilot launches to enhance safety, effectiveness, and sustainability, incorporating feedback from its pilots and marine teams. The program will expand the fleet of larger vessels from three to five, replace older models, and improve seakeeping, crew safety, comfort, handling, fuel efficiency, and emissions reduction.

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.

The IMPA Safety Campaign will take place from 16th to 30th May 2025. We encourage all maritime pilots to take part, as your contribution is essential to the success of the campaign!

Filmed by James O'Donnell.
Departure of DOUCE FRANCE from DP World London Gateway Berth #3, ebb tide, SW 20kt wind, 1800 GMT on the 13th of March 2021.

Editor's note: The pilot boarding seems a bit improvised and unsafe to me, but that's certainly business as usual, isn't it?

Pilots boarding the M/V Hodaka Galaxy with the San Francisco Bar Pilots.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_pilot

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/211540110/vessel:BURKANA/_:90edd4dc50678df68bf911196fe5240f

Stabilisers are used to reduce the amount of roll experienced by large ships.
In this video, we look at a few different stabilisation techniques. We investigate how different methods work and how successful they are at reducing a roll.

This shows the Pilot getting off the Zaandam at Nova Scotia. Seas and wind makes it look quite dangerous.