Article Origins of the IMPA pilot mark
by Kevin Vallance deep sea pilot and author - published on 24 October 2019
There are many things in both our everyday and professional lives which we take for granted and never question the origins of, an example of this might be the IMPA recommended ‘pilot mark or pilot line’, which is sometimes seen on the side of vessels indicating where a vessels freeboard exceeds 9 metres.
Article Combinations Ladders: "1,000 combinations around" (by Arie Palmers)
by Arie Palmers, Netherlands - published on 13 July 2020
Video Safe set-up of pilot ladders
published on 8 January 2024
Video How not to climb down a Pilot Ladder
published on 1 July 2020
The video was found on some social media channels in June 2020. When so many elementary mistakes are made and so many risks are taken, this is exactly what can happen! It's a demonstrative example of an unprofessional action: 1) Where is the life jacket? 2) No backpack on the shoulders. Use a rope to have the backpack lifted by the deck crew. 3) Where is the rest of the crew (on vessel / on the small boat) for safe assistance? What other mistakes have you discovered? We do not put videos...
Article Briese research and Nautitec create a lifelike virtual simulation model of research vessel „Maria S. Merian”
published on 16 November 2021
Video Incident on 31 January 2020 : A rope of the pilot ladder breaks. Pilot could still reach the vessel
published on 3 February 2020
Video Flying into the Graveyard of the Pacific: Ports Unknown with Columbia River Bar Pilot Michael Tolley
published on 15 June 2026
At the mouth of the Columbia River lies "The Graveyard of the Pacific"—the deadliest river bar crossing on earth. To get a massive cargo ship safely through these crushing waves, an elite Bar Pilot has to board a moving ship by climbing a rope ladder and get's hoisted off the ship by helicopter 10 miles off shore in the Pacific Ocean. In this episode of What do you Wanna Cook?: PORTS UNKNOWN, we get you as close to the action as humanly possible. We take you inside the cockpit for an...