It has been shown that a majority (51%) of pilot ladders is secured by means of D-shackles, when secured at intermediate length. Previous research (Evans, 2020) has proven that this method has only about 50% of the strength of the pilot ladder when secured at full length (“double ended ladder”), or by means of the “endless-sling” method.

Crude Oil Tanker British Robin passing St Anns Head on a rather windy day in Pembrokeshire.

According to information from Simon Pelletier, President of IMPA, it was resolved at the IMO Maritime Safety Committee 106 on 08.11.2022 to open up the SOLAS Convention for amendment in respect of pilot boarding arrangements.

The latest MS Amlin Marine circular, compiled by theTechnical Loss Prevention Consultant Peter van der Kroft, focuses on the importance of pilot safety in marine navigation.

Port operations, whether these are being performed on water or on land, are often not without risk. Pilots boarding a ship while sailing, navigating through narrow passages, collision avoidance with other smaller or larger vessels, discharging and moving cargo on land, walking between container handling equipment and trucks…

On May 11, 2020, in the early morning hours, the news went around the world that two serious marine casualties occurred in sector 8 of Singapore Street within 6 minutes.

From the author: "This is a special video about the transit through the infamous Panama canal. It took me quite some time to make this video. I tried to show as much as I could about the Panama canal and its pilotage waters."

The collision of 3 ships, an unfortunate event that highlighted the importance of human factors on accident causation,

Nakilat’s newbuild MEGI LNG carrier Global Energy loaded a full cargo of LNG and transited the Panama Canal for the first time in late-2020. Chartered by Cheniere Marketing International, the 173,400cbm vessel is commercially and technically managed by Nakilat. Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), 'Global Energy' is the first of four LNG carrier newbuilds to be delivered to Global Shipping Co. Ltd., a joint venture of Nakilat and Maran Ventures Inc. (Maran Ventures).