A presentation by PSA Marine harbour pilot Mabel Hu at the Safety@Sea conference in Singapore on Tuesday showed pictures of actual pilot ladders in poor and dangerous conditions which pilots had been expected to use to board vessels.
The presentation also highlighted the need to understand the impact of rapidly changing sea and weather states in the crowded waters around one of world's busiest ports. At any one time there are around 1,000 vessels in Singapore port with a ship arriving or leaving every two to three minutes.
The bi-annual safe boarding campaign in Singapore in July 2016 found that 21% of pilot ladders were unsafe having deficiencies while 79% were. Hu noted that not much difference was seen in the January 2017 campaign with 20% of pilot ladders found to be unsafe while 80% were safe.
“With your help we can make boarding for harbour pilots safer not just in Singapore but around the world,” she said.
“Singapore harbour pilots need your help to reduce the number of direct and indirect safety issues.”
An initiative to help this month PSA Marine published a guide on its website entitled “Information for Merchant Ships”.
“A pilot who has climbed a sound ladder, well-rigged and attended by an officer and deck party will be in the right frame of mind to give his best attention to the safety of the vessel,” Hu said.
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