Mississippi River Pilot transfer off of south bound ship in the Mississippi River below New Orleans to a Pilot Boat. Pilots climb down rope ladder onto the top of the Pilot Boat while both boats are underway.
Shipbuilder Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, said it has delivered by road transport a new pilot boat to the Lake Pilots in Port Huron, Mich. The Resilient Class high-speed launch Huron Pride is the pilots’ third boat built by the Somerset-Mass. shipyard since 1979.
The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the contact of the Miss Mollye D tow with the Route 182 bridge was a loss of control of the tow by the pilot at the helm of the towing vessel, likely due to impairment by factors such as fatigue or drug use.
On the occasion of the Maritime Safety Week (July 4-10), UK MAIB’s inspector Bill Evans refers to the issue of unsafe pilot ladders, a concern that has been regularly voiced by the industry.