Opinion Pilot Ladder - The Weakest Link in Marine Pilotage
by Capt. Santosha K. Nayak - published on 10 August 2020
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.
Video SWATH Pilottender Groden, good operational experience under all weather conditions
published on 12 March 2021
Video Marine Pilots Boarding (Insights from Kuwait)
published on 13 August 2025
Video How to build a safe Pilot Ladder. The production at PTR Holland
published on 20 December 2019
Video Pilot Boarding Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne, Australia
published on 24 September 2020
Editors Note: Unfortunately this YouTube video - although publicly available - was not authorised by the responsible official bodies. Out of respect for the local organisation, we have decided to stop showing the video link to YouTube here. We ask for your understanding!
Join us as we take a pilot 5 miles out to sea to meet a huge 80,000 ton oil tanker arriving outside Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne, Australia!
Article Reminder: The 134th UKMPA Conference
published on 1 September 2022
Video Falmouth Pilot Cutter Pellew
published on 1 July 2022
Built by Luke Powell and his working Sail Yard in Truro, Cornwall, launched in February 2020. The lines were taken from the Vincent, a Falmouth Pilot cutter built in 1852 for the Vincent family of St Mawes. She worked for 70 years as a pilot boat, finally retiring in 1922 and ending her days as a houseboat on the Percuil River very close to the yard where she had been built. When the idea to build a new pilot cutter of considerable size was born, the lines of Vincent were seen as the...
Video SAMMON Demo Planning FtLauderdale Arrival with comments
published on 20 January 2021
This updated video shows how easy it is to develop an arrival plan with the SAMMON Planning Tool. As a sample the arrival from appraoch until the berth to Ft. Lauderdale is used under strong current of 2kn. At the simulator training courses where we used this tool for preparation of a manoeuvring plan during the briefing sessions all nautical officers involved stated afterwards: "Why don't we have this tool on our ships?"