Statendam’s 2nd Officer Gordon Cree submitted this interesting post.

Pilots are people with specialized knowledge of a certain river, port, coastal area or sea. They typically worked at sea and rose through the ranks to that of mate or master before moving ashore to be trained and given the knowledge required to work in a certain area. For the most part they board vessels before they enter port limits, river mouths and areas that may pose danger so that they can provide to the Captain the knowledge required to arrive safely at the berth or anchorage. In many places and ports pilots are compulsory, the vessel unable to enter without one. In others the pilot is available if required – maybe the Captain has been there before and knows what to look out for, which route to take, etc. In some places there is no pilot at all!

Pilots typically arrive on-board via a pilot boat. A dedicated fast launch that will arrive alongside at a pre-determined location, the pilot will then transfer from the launch to the vessel. Depending upon the vessel size and type, he will climb up what is known as the ‘pilot ladder.’ The pilot ladder is specifically constructed and enshrined within law. The ladders are made by threading and fixing a series of hardwood, machined steps, each approximately 500mm x 110mm, onto two pairs of 28-30mm diameter manila ropes, and binding each step to the ropes at 350mm intervals. At a maximum interval of eight steps, the standard step is replaced by a spreader, which is an elongated version of the standard machined step, with a minimum length of 1.8 m. The spreader’s function is to prevent the ladder from twisting in the prevailing weather conditions when in use. The lowest four steps of the ladder are normally made from rubber, which is more resistant than wood, to the interaction between the ship and to the pilot boat when it comes alongside.

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