Offshore Pilot station out of San Francisco

The latest summary from PTR Holland on the subject of pilot ladders. Here is the most important information on maintenance, use and replacement & insepection record book.

Editor's note: The pilot boarding seems a bit improvised and unsafe to me, but that's certainly business as usual, isn't it?

Please read this statement of Joris J. Stuip from PTR Holland, Partner of Marine-Pilots.com.

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Why do we see so many unapproved and low-quality pilot ladders? The answer is invariably price. OK, we all like a bargain, but ...

SWATH build by Abeking & Rasmussen (Germany)

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.

In Novorossiysk (Russia, Black Sea), a marine pilot died during a pilot transfer and an investigation has been launched. The incident occurred on the evening of 14 March at about 21:40.

In fact, the pivot point that we “see” is a trick of the eye, it looks like the ship is rotating about this point but in fact it is elsewhere, a point that you cannot see.

Many consider the Bristol Channel pilot cutter to be the finest sailing boat design ever. Fast, seaworthy and beautiful to behold, the pilot cutter is the perfect combination of form and function - a thoroughbred perfectly adapted to a life in one of the Britain's most treacherous stretches of water. Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe explores the life of the pilots and sails a perfectly restored cutter to find out just what drove these men and their wonderful machines.

Now that I am a pilot, I know that I will be rated at the debriefing meeting regarding my work, as soon as I disembark. The bridge team and the captain will adjust their safety envelope for the next manoeuvre, according to my performance.