【AMSA】 Marine Notice 2023/04 'Pilot Transfer Arrangements'

AMSA issued Marine Notice 2023/04’Pilot Transfer Arrangements’. This Marine Notice is intended to alert all parties to the continued occurrence of incidents due to deficiencies in the Pilot Transfer Arrangement.

Please be noted ;

• SOLAS V/23.2.3 states a pilot ladder shall be certified by the manufacturer as complying with SOLAS V/23 or “with an international standard acceptable to the Organization” and refers to ISO 799-1:2019 “Ships and marine technology – pilot ladders”.
• Where a pilot ladder has been certified under the ISO standard, AMSA expects that the ladder is strength tested according to the standard. Where this test has not been conducted within 30 months※, the ladder should not be used until the test is conducted, or the ladder is replaced.
• Attention is drawn to the installation of the Pilot Transfer Arrangement, especially how the Pilot Ladder is secured to the hull.
• The man rope type is not specified in SOLAS the Australasian Marine Pilots Institute recommends grade 1 manila be used.
• Man ropes should be tagged and included in onboard inspection and maintenance procedures. Good practice dictates these should be removed from service at the same intervals of not more than 30 months or sooner if required.
• It should be noted by operators coming to Australian ports that the availability of compliant pilot ladders is limited in Australia. To prevent avoidable delays operators are recommended to have spare compliant pilot transfer arrangements onboard.
•  Crew members assigned to rig a pilot transfer arrangement should be sufficiently familiar with the task. Where a pilot transfer arrangement is rigged incorrectly, this may contribute to evidence that the master or crew are not familiar with essential shipboard procedures relating to the safety of the ship. 

※30month
The strength test date for a newly purchased Pilot Ladder is not stated on the certificate and is often unknown to crew. We independently contacted AMSA on this point and received a reply stating that 'strength test should be performed at intervals not to exceed 30 months from the manufacture date'.

We have compiled a list of Pilot Ladder Regulations for each port in Australia, which you may also refer to. Please note that some of these ports have more stringent standards than those required by AMSA.

We are also continuing to compile Pilot Ladder regulations for each port. Please let us know if you have any questions and/or additional information.