Scheldt Pilots issue PTA advice to all visiting ships

Herman Broers

The pilots on the Scheldt river, serving Antwerp, Gent and the Dutch ports of Flushing and Terneuzen, have issued a joint statement in which all visiting ships are strongly adviced to comply with Pilot Transfer Arrangements (PTA’s) regulations and guidelines.

The notice shows good and bad practice examples on the safe use of pilot ladders, combination ladders and embarkation platforms, a.k.a. trapdoor arrangements. Also, the safe use of retrieval lines is discussed.

This notice will be sent to all incoming vessels, together with pre-arrival papers.

Next Post

"Balance, or no balance?", the use of the inboard stanchion.

Whenever a combination ladder is used for pilot transfer operations, sometimes the inner stanchion on the bottom platform is not used. Maybe the thought behind this is: ” It is on the inboard side, so the pilot does not need it to prevent him from falling overboard.” The reason for […]