MEMBER ALERT Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Manager One Battery Park Plaza 31 st Fl., New York, NY 10004 USA Tel: +1 212 847 4500 Fax: +1 212 847 4599 https://www.american-club.com American Club Member Alert – March 9 , 20 20 1 MARCH 9, 2020 AMERICAN PILOTS’ ASSOCIATION REQUEST - DANGEROUS TRAPDOORS Following the tragic fall of a New York pilot on December 30 th , the American Pilots’ Association, (APA), has released a notice to the maritime community advising of the dangers of some accommodation ladder/ pilot ladder combination arrangements with integrated embarking platforms. Also known as “sloping ladders”, these arrangements include a pilot ladder hanging from a cross beam near the bottom of a platform and require pilots to pull themselves up through a trapdoor while twisting to obtain a secure footing on the platform. There are serious concerns among pilots regarding these platforms due to the multitude of potential non-compliances intrinsic to such arrangements. A commonly observed noncompliance arises where the pilot ladder steps are not properly extending through the trap door and above the platform causing uneven step heights which entail a difficult physical maneuver for pilots. Members are encouraged to review the enclosed notice entitled A Request from the American Pilots’ Association to State Pilotage Authorities Regarding Pilot Safety and ensure their vessels’ pilot transfer arrangements are in compliance with IMO standards. The APA also welcomes suggestions for alternative methods or strategies for improving this area of, or any situation jeopardizing, pilot safety. Members may also refer to Every Step Matters - Pilot Ladder Boarding Safety guidance which can be found on the Club’s website at: https://www.american-club.com/files/files/slips_trips_falls_case_5.pdf AMERICAN PILOTS’ ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED 499 SOUTH CAPITOL STREET, S.W., SUITE 409 WASHINGTON, DC 20003 CAPTAIN JORGE J. VISO PHONE: 202-484-0700 CLAYTON L. DIAMOND PRESIDENT www.americanpilots.org DEPUTY DIRECTOR-ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL CAPTAIN WHIT SMITH LISA P. TOWNSHEND SECRETARY-TREASURER OPERATIONS DIRECTOR PAUL G. KIRCHNER WILLIAM R. CAIRNS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-GENERAL COUNSEL NAVIGATION TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR CAPT. ERIC A. NIELSEN CAPT. W. CRAYTON WALTERS III CAPT. MICHAEL C. TORJUSEN CAPT. BRETT A. PALMER CAPT. KATHLEEN R. FLURY CAPT. DANNY H. GALAGHER VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT NORTH ATLANTIC STATES SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES GULF STATES GULF STATES – LOUISIANA PACIFIC STATES GREAT LAKES A Request from the American Pilots’ Association to State Pilotage Authorities Regarding Pilot Safety This past December 30 th , Captain Dennis Sherwood, a New York licensed pilot, was killed from a fall while embarking an inbound container ship. The embarkation in this instance was via a combination arrangement of an accommodation ladder and a pilot ladder. Such a combination is required whenever the distance from the surface of the water to the point of access to the ship is more than nine meters. This particular combination arrangement, however, involved a trapdoor in the platform of the accommodation ladder with the pilot ladder hanging from a cross beam near the bottom of the platform, and with the top step of the ladder significantly below the level of the platform. This requires a pilot to pull himself or herself up through the trapdoor while twisting to get a secure footing on the platform. Captain Sherwood