Nick Cutmore, secretary general of the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA), has voiced his frustration that many vessel operators do not comply with safety regulations for pilot ladders.
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) sets out minimum safety standards for the ladders and how to use them.
But the IMPA’s annual safety survey has consistently shown that more than 10% of vessels do not fully comply with those regulations.
“The figures are pretty constant ... for 20 years,” Cutmore told TradeWinds. “I can’t think how to get people to engage more with this issue. The rules are simple and clear. People don’t comply.”
Despite its name, a pilot ladder can often be used by seafarers and port state control (PSC) officials during ship-to-ship transfers.
A significant loss of life at sea is believed to occur during those transfers, although no comprehensive figures are available. “We normally lose a couple of members a year through ladder accidents,” Cutmore said.
One of the casualties over the past year was a New York-based pilot. “His kids are all under 10, I think,” Cutmore said. “This is a young, family person who has been killed doing a job trying to help a ship. And it’s very sad.”
In last year’s survey, 12.1% of the vessels inspected did not comply with the Solas regulations for pilot ladders. The worst-performing regions were Europe, North America and the Middle East, where non-compliance levels exceeded 18%.
More than 21% of passengerships, 19% of reefers and 15% of chemical tankers failed to meet the regulatory requirements.
Cutmore said vessels generally fail to comply with the rules when their ladders are old and overused, or when seafarers fail to install them correctly.
There are instances of a pilot, having refused a non-compliant ladder, then being offered a compliant ladder that seafarers keep to one side for PSC checks. This is thought to reduce expenses, although a decent pilot ladder costs only a few hundred dollars.
“This is typical of our industry,” he said. “They want things cheap. It’s one of the things I don’t like about being in this business.”
