Does the growth of ships ever have limits? Perhaps less in shipbuilding than in the handling of the ships during piloting.

On August 28, the world's largest container ship completed its first crossing in the Suez Canal. Due to its huge size and this is the first voyage of the ship, it has received extra attention and special treatment from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

A pilot of Sandy Hook, Dennis Sherwood fell off a ladder while boarding a ship today at 4:30 a.m. and died of his serious injury in Staten Island hospital.

Every day, Columbia River Bar Pilots guide massive cargo ships and tankers between the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River, negotiating the Astoria bridge. Their job is to make that voyage often and make it safely, so you'd better believe they're paying attention to what happened in Baltimore. Read more: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/the-story/columbia-bar-pilots-river-baltimore-bridge-collapse-cargo-ship/283-e3770397-292c-49e2-a7fd-b0d2db6ccdb1 Watch more The Story videos: http://...

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s (MAIB) has published their latest annual report showing that pilot ladders remain a safety issue for workers.

"Analysis of reports indicates that pilot ladders (Pilot Transfer Arrangements, or PTAs) and
intentional deviations from safety procedures remain the main causes of near misses..."

A Japanese bulk carrier that has spilled more than 1,000 tons of oil since running aground off the coast of Mauritius has broken in two. Officials said the split was caused by a crack in a cargo hold, after the ship's condition deteriorated severely overnight. Emergency teams and thousands of volunteers have been racing to siphon off remaining fuel on board the ship.

Correct method of rigging pilot ladder explained.
As explained, a large number of reports related to the use of pilot ladders which are too long relative to the vessel’s draughts. As a result, the excessively long ladders require shortening up before being deployed for boarding pilots. In these cases, ship crew shortens the pilot ladders, using D-shackles to choke the side ropes at the required height along the ladder’s length. In this method, the D-shackle is first secured to a hard point...

Editors Note:
Safety is different
One comment on YouTube on this video:
"No hard hats, no Hi-Viz clothing (in case pilot falls in) the one at 5:16 has not even got a life jacket - absolute cowboys!"