Various news sources today report that on February 21st, a 58 year old Taiwanese pilot died while boarding the vessel BLUE OCEAN for her inbound voyage to Taichung. He was located after 40 minutes and recovered from the sea. According to news sources it was a choppy sea at the […]
News
The EU Marine Equipment Directive (MED), what does it mean?
On many pilot ladders the sign of a small steering wheel is depicted in the certificate and on the pilot ladder as well. What does that mean? The simple answer is: The steering wheel is the symbol of compliance with the EU Marine Equipment Directive. But there is much more […]
Pilot Ladder Safety and the Human Factor
In the latest issue of CHIRP’s Maritime Feedback Issue 66, the relation between Pilot Ladder Safety and the Human Factor, a very good read. The factors Capability, Culture and Local Practices are discussed. As usual the CHIRP is a very good read and the maritime bulletin can be found here.
The dangers of the trapdoor arrangement
The following short clip appeared on TikTok recently, showing a non compliant trapdoor arrangement, and a pilot using it. From this short video, the dangers of this kind of arrangement are very clear. The pilot ladder and the combination ladder are not secured to the hull. Both are hanging free […]
Compliance by design, failure by operator
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 recessed supporting points are not used for securing the ladder at 1,5 meters […]
ICS and IMPA shipping guidance can help curb pilot transfer fatalities
Source: ICS Press release A guide to maritime pilot transfer safety has been updated amid industry concerns about poorly rigged ladders causing severe injuries or fatalities. The ‘Shipping Industry Guidance on Pilot Transfer Arrangements’, produced by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) in partnership with the International Maritime Pilots’ Association […]
Orbituary Capt. Troy Evans
It is with great sadness that we learned about the passing of Captain Troy Evans, maritime pilot from Tauranga, New Zealand. Troy has been a pioneer in sharing the awareness on pilot ladder safety. His practical research in determining the strength of various intermediate securing methods of ladders was groundbreaking […]
Pilots: Deaths by unsafe pilot ladders and incompetent crew
Loodsen: “Doden door onveilige loodsladders en onkundige bemanning” Source: Schuttevaer, 15 december 2021 De internationale loodsenassociatie Impa luidt de noodklok over onveilige loodsladders. Uit een wereldwijde peiling blijkt volgens de loodsen dat de toegang tot het schip via de loodsladder vaak niet voldoet aan de voorschriften. In Europa gaat het […]
IMPA Safety Campaign Analysis 2017-2021
Every year, the International Maritime Pilots’ Association publishes the results of its annual IMPA SAFETY CAMPAIGN. The following analysis has been made using data from the IMPA Safety Campaign on pilot ladders from 2017 until 2021. The data has been retrieved from the IMPA site and from data of previous […]
Securing of Pilot Ladders at Intermediate Length, room for improvement
By: Herman Broers, Godfried Maas and Geert van der Molen This article describes the project of three MMSI students at Maritime Institute Willem Barentsz at Terschelling, the Netherlands. As part of their course Master in Marine Shipping Innovations, they embarked on a project to improve the way pilot ladders are […]