A pilot recently encountered an unsafe situation concerning the pilot boarding combination arrangement. The Nautical Institute’s Mars Report featured the incident and provided lessons to be learned from it.
A summary of what happened:
A pilot was disembarking a vessel underway, along with three other persons. Each of the three others descended the pilot ladder in turn, followed by the pilot. No one except the pilot was wearing a lifejacket.
On descending, the pilot noticed that the pilot ladder combination setup was irregular and dangerous. The gangway was overlapping the pilot ladder and the platform was not horizontal, making it difficult to cross over. One crew member kept the pilot ladder ropes away from the gangway to provide better access onto the pilot ladder.
The gangway was overlapping the pilot ladder and the platform was not horizontal, making it difficult to cross over.
As the pilot stepped onto and descended the pilot ladder, he slipped several times. He noticed that one of the pilot ladder ropes was lower than the other and the treads were inclined by at least thirty degrees. Aborting the disembarkation would have been even more dangerous, so he decided to continue.
After everyone was safely on the pilot boat, the luggage of the three persons had to be lowered. The total disembarkation took 31 minutes.
Lessons Learned
- Anyone transferring from a vessel to a pilot boat should wear a lifejacket – this is just common sense.
- Proper installation of the pilot boarding combination arrangement is crucial for safety.
- It is easy to get it right, but also easy to get it wrong! For guidance, please refer to IMO document MSC.1/Circ.1428 Required boarding arrangements for pilots 2012.
Mars Reports
This accident was covered in the Mars Reports, originally published as Mars 201965, that are part of Report Number 324. A selection of this Report has also been published in SWZ|Maritime’s November issue. The Mars Reports are also published on SWZ|Maritime’s website to help prevent maritime accidents.
More reports are needed to keep the scheme interesting and informative. All reports are read only by the Mars coordinator and are treated in the strictest confidence. To submit a report, please use the Mars report form.
Picture: Someone preparing a pilot ladder (by Khaled Abdelmoumen).
