Marshall Islands revises Pilot Transfer Arrangements

The Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator has issued a marine notice revising the pilot transfer arrangements.

This marine notice is addressed to all shipowners, operators, masters, and officers of merchant ships, and recognized organizations.

It was published on January 1st, 2023, and supersedes Rev. Apr/2017.

The purpose of this Notice is to ensure that pilot transfer arrangements, use, and maintenance conform to standards at least equal to those set out by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Assembly Resolution A.1045(27), as amended.

This Notice applies to all vessels registered in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) that have occasion to use the services of a pilot when entering or leaving port, or wherever pilotage is required.

Application Dates

1.1 Concerning the installation date of pilot transfer equipment and arrangements stipulated in paragraph 1.2 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Seas (SOLAS) Regulation V/23, IMO Circular MSC.1/Circ.1375/Rev.1 provides a unified interpretation as follows:

.1 for ships which the building contract is placed on or after 01 July 2012, or in the absence of the contract, constructed on or after 01 July 2012, “installed on or after 01 July 2012” means any installation on the ship; and
.2 for ships other than those ships prescribed in §1.1.1 above, “installed on or after 01 July 2012” means a contractual delivery date for the system, in its entirety or for individual components of the system, as relevant, to the ship on or after 01 July 2012 or, in the absence of a contractual delivery date, the actual delivery of the system, in its entirety or for individual components, to the ship on or after 01 July 2012. This does not apply to equipment and arrangements covered by paragraph 1.4 of SOLAS Regulation V/23.

1.2 Furthermore, equipment and arrangements for pilot transfer which are provided on ships before 01 July 2012 shall at least comply with the requirements of SOLAS Regulation V/23, as may be in force prior to that date.

Due regard shall also be paid to the standards adopted by the Organization as reflected in IMO Assembly Resolution A.1045(27), as amended, and IMO Circular MSC.1/Circ.1428, except as provided otherwise.

1.3 After 01 July 2012, all ships shall not use mechanical pilot hoists, and for ships constructed before 01 January 1994, the shipside doors used for pilot transfer, if any, shall not open outwards and must be retrofitted to open inwards not later than the first annual, periodical, or renewal survey, whichever is due first, after 01 July 2012.

Arrangements, Equipment, and Safety

2.1 Pilot transfer arrangements shall meet the standards of SOLAS Regulation V/23 and corresponding IMO Assembly Resolution A.1045(27), as amended.

Furthermore, in applying the relevant provisions of SOLAS Regulation V/23.3.3 for pilot transfer equipment and arrangements, the unified interpretation as contained in IMO Circular MSC.1/Circ.1495/Rev.1 shall be used as guidance.

2.2 Pilot transfer arrangements shall be provided to enable the pilot to embark and disembark safely on either side of the ship (SOLAS Regulation V/23, paragraph 3.1), with typical transfer arrangements shown in IMO Circular MSC.1/Circ.1428.

All pilot ladders used for pilot transfer shall be clearly identified with tags or other permanent marking so as to enable identification of each appliance for the purposes of survey, inspection, and record keeping. A record should be kept.

2.3 Masters shall take particular notice of requirements for pilot transfer arrangements and assure that all components of the Pilot Transfer Arrangements and Equipment system are included in the vessel’s accident prevention protocol (see RMI Maritime Regulations, MI-108, §7.41.13) and that all standards required by this Notice are applied.

Inspections and Surveys

3.1 Pilot transfer equipment and arrangements shall be accessible, kept clean, properly maintained, properly stowed, and regularly inspected in accordance with the requirements of §2.1 and §2.2 of this Notice, to ensure their safe use.

3.2 Pilot ladders, provided to a ship that are constructed and maintained in accordance with ISO799:2004 (E), Ships and Marine Technology – Pilot Ladders, shall be deemed to comply fully with the performance requirements for pilot ladders under SOLAS.

3.3 Inspections shall be conducted by a Recognized Organization (RO) at each cargo ship safety equipment or passenger ship safety equipment survey (see RMI Technical Circular 16).

RMI Nautical Inspectors have the authority to inspect pilot transfer arrangements in accordance with RMI Marine Notice 5-034-1.