Sad news, Humber pilot

[Daverw]

Just seen the sad news of an incident on the Humber estuary

Humber pilot Francisco Galia died in fall while boarding vessel Humber pilot Francisco Galia died in fall while boarding vessel

 

[Capt Popeye]

Humm just a personal comment ; I feel very sorry for the Pilot and his family , dying from such a normal activity is hard to accept , but when I have seen video and tv of pilots doing this activity , I feel unhappy that its being performed in the safest ways possible to them ; surely there should always be a rope attatched between the Ship and the Pilot , saimilar to those that climbers use ?

With the Pilot Launch raising its speed to match that of the Ship , then closing in , to allow the Pilot to grab the Ladder and start climbling up , looks very risky to me n; with advancing age , all sorts of medical issues can surely happen , at the wrong moment , and a loss of concentration , grasp , strength , etc are not catered for in this scenario

RIP Fransisco

 

[PeterWright]

Hi Capt. P,

I too am saddened by this news and share your concern for Francisco's family

While I am far from convinced that a rope is the best solution, I too have had the feeling that this doesn't look like a low risk operation, so perhaps it's time that employers of pilots, who seem to use the same approach wirld wide, took a look at the process and its risks then considered carefully whether those risks might be reduced by some redesign. The starting point must be to gather data on the actual level of risk today.

I can think of no better quest in memory of Francisco.

Peter.

 

[penfold]

It's a risky job in a high risk sector, exacerbated by govt & corporate indifference and negligence to equip and maintain vessels with SOLAS approved pilot access. When marine CHIRP is regularly filled with reports of rotten ladders and other lethal outcomes of carp maintenance it's a surprise the rate of injury and death isn't higher.

 

[Juan Twothree]

In the incident below, the pilot didn't actually fall into the water. He lost his footing on the ladder, and was crushed between the ship and the pilot cutter.


Accident during pilot transfer between general cargo vessel Sunmi and pilot transfer vessel Patrol with loss of 1 life

 

[Capt Popeye]

In the incident below, the pilot didn't actually fall into the water. He lost his footing on the ladder, and was crushed between the ship and the pilot cutter.


Accident during pilot transfer between general cargo vessel Sunmi and pilot transfer vessel Patrol with loss of 1 life

Well the report clearly states that the Pilot Fell between the two vessels , wether by loosing footing or slipery ladder , whats the real difference ? ITS clearly a high risk activity ?

 

[Capt Popeye]

Hi Capt. P,

I too am saddened by this news and share your concern for Francisco's family

While I am far from convinced that a rope is the best solution, I too have had the feeling that this doesn't look like a low risk operation, so perhaps it's time that employers of pilots, who seem to use the same approach wirld wide, took a look at the process and its risks then considered carefully whether those risks might be reduced by some redesign. The starting point must be to gather data on the actual level of risk today.

I can think of no better quest in memory of Francisco.

Peter.

Yes quite agree PW , it would be a fitting tribute to Franco , to bring up to safety standard the Pilot Boarding facilities and standards

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Sad.
The limit for driving a car is 80mg per 100ml of blood.

Quote:

• The pilot had ingested sufficient alcohol on the day of the accident for his blood to contain 122mg alcohol per 100ml of blood approximately 2 hours after reporting for duty. It is likely that the consumption of alcohol contributed to his fall.

 

[SaltIre]

Sad.
The limit for driving a car is 80mg per 100ml of blood.

Quote:

• The pilot had ingested sufficient alcohol on the day of the accident for his blood to contain 122mg alcohol per 100ml of blood approximately 2 hours after reporting for duty. It is likely that the consumption of alcohol contributed to his fall.

You should perhaps make it clear that you "Quote" refer to the death in 2016 reported at Accident during pilot transfer between general cargo vessel Sunmi and pilot transfer vessel Patrol with loss of 1 life
... and not the death of the Humber pilot in the thread.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

You should perhaps make it clear that you "Quote" refer to the death in 2016 reported at Accident during pilot transfer between general cargo vessel Sunmi and pilot transfer vessel Patrol with loss of 1 life
... and not the death of the Humber pilot in the thread.

Apologies.
I just picked up on the link from Popeye without checking.
My fault.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

It's a risky job in a high risk sector, exacerbated by govt & corporate indifference and negligence to equip and maintain vessels with SOLAS approved pilot access. When marine CHIRP is regularly filled with reports of rotten ladders and other lethal outcomes of carp maintenance it's a surprise the rate of injury and death isn't higher.

I too am a regular reader of the CHIRP reports - they make very interesting reading. And as @penfold says, almost every edition has at least one tale of woe about pilot ladders, so much so that CHIRP often offers the advice to ports to deny entry to vessels with inadequate arrangements for pilots to board. The minimum requirements are part of SOLAS, and they are often not adhered to.

Incidentally, the relative motion of pilot boat and vessel makes a rope (as suggested by @Capt Popeye ) a very unsafe option; it could either snatch a pilot off the deck of the pilot boat or plunge them into the sea between the two. Either could easily result in serious injury or death. Remember, pilot vessels are a similar size to our boats (well, at the upper end of the scale), so they bounce around a lot relative to the ship they are serving. They also go out to ships in almost any weather.

 

[Aquaboy]

I can't help but think all the arm chair experts will get involved with this one which won't help anyone especially Francisco...

 

[Capt Popeye]

I too am a regular reader of the CHIRP reports - they make very interesting reading. And as @penfold says, almost every edition has at least one tale of woe about pilot ladders, so much so that CHIRP often offers the advice to ports to deny entry to vessels with inadequate arrangements for pilots to board. The minimum requirements are part of SOLAS, and they are often not adhered to.

Incidentally, the relative motion of pilot boat and vessel makes a rope (as suggested by @Capt Popeye ) a very unsafe option; it could either snatch a pilot off the deck of the pilot boat or plunge them into the sea between the two. Either could easily result in serious injury or death. Remember, pilot vessels are a similar size to our boats (well, at the upper end of the scale), so they bounce around a lot relative to the ship they are serving. They also go out to ships in almost any weather.

Ah well AP ; my thoughts are that the Boarding Pilot only takes the rope when they are actually on the Ladder , not before ; so that the rope acts rather like a climbers safety system ; so that the Boarding Pilot is already attatched to the Ship by virtue of the boarding ladder , the Pilot Launch can bear away from the Ship , as quickly as it wants to , thus putting clearance space between Pilot Launch and the Ship

Also I am not impressed by the Report at all , surely in this Safety Day and Age , anybody reporting for duty is seen and checked out by a Senior Authority before they start working for the Company ; Thats each day , especially if required to perform such a risky procedure as boarding a Ship by means of a Ladder

Seems to me , in my Armchair , that the reports agents are really not aware of their duties and responsibilities , in this Safety First day and age ? or just perhaps , the Agents doing this report are not into investigating cause and remedy in this unfortunate incident ?

Maybe thought Pilots are Self Employed , but someone surely somebody should check them out when reporting for duty ?

 

[penfold]

Humber pilots may well be self-employed now, certainly there was a serious dispute over changes to terms and conditions a few years ago. It would be a preposterous conceit that only serves the port authority if so.

 

[PeterWright]

It is not at all unusual for high hazard industries (e.g. petrochem) to operate a drug and alcohol testing programme which applies to all personnel including contractors whether self employed or otherwise. It would seem to me that this is a no brainer for pilotage.

Peter.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Humber pilots may well be self-employed now, certainly there was a serious dispute over changes to terms and conditions a few years ago. It would be a preposterous conceit that only serves the port authority if so.

Well re Pilots being Self Employed or Contractor

I note that our local Teignmouth Harbour Commision , record annual payments into what I understand is a Pilots Retirement Fund each year ?