Maritime Pilot Training VI - Pilot Ladder Training

This guidance is intended to remind seafarers and companies of the vital importance of adhering to the rules and established procedures concerning the provision of safe boarding arrangements for pilots.

This article was first published back in September 2021: Pilotage operations require close interaction between human and machines. This complex sociotechnical system is necessary to safely and efficiently maneuver a vessel in constrained waters.

To monitor the vessel’s progress, the pilot had set up his portable pilotage unit (PPU). He had connected the rate-of-turn generator to the vessel’s pilot plug and had set a variable range marker on the radar with a radius of 0.5 nm.

Port Revel is a ship handling training center for pilots, captains and officers. Unique in its kind, it allows to acquire new skills, to improve on different manned models at scale 1 / 25th.

Maritime Education

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.

Reflections on his work on the Mississippi River (2014)

A routine station watch turns surreal as a massive container ship slowly emerges from dense fog. We board the pilot, complete the transfer, and watch the vessel disappear back into the mist.

On 21st and 22nd September, the ISPO conference 2022 will be held at Cork in Ireland. Now the conference program and topics have been published.