Pickup the marine pilot

This video is another Look at Life Documentary from Volume 1 - Transport - and features the Weather Adviser - a UK Weather ship from April 1965. In all conditions, special ships maintain a constant scientific watch on the weather.

It is not often that this blog is used to show bad practice, however in this case some pictures tell a whole story. Ship is compliant by design for rigging a combination. How about the operator(s)?

The following article appeared in AIMPA magazine number 2 about the strength and testing of pilot ladders : There is much more information about pilot ladders in the AIMPA magazine, second issue, if you wish to read more you can download a copy at the bottom of this post.

These are images that no one wants to see. How can people take such a risk and behave so unprofessionally? Purely a matter of luck whether you come home again in the evening!

Going down the accommodation ladder with neither lifevest nor safety line must have been based on similar, past, successful operations, which may have never been challenged on board. This ‘slippage’ in safety is a pernicious and common phenomenon.

From that moment on I have been keeping a tally of the non compliant boarding arrangements I see in front of me on a daily base, and off course I participate in the annual safety campaign, conducted by IMPA each october.

Training video VI on the correct use of the pilot ladder