Question 1

Following the pattern identified in MAIB's ongoing pilot ladder reporting, a Chief Officer is inspecting a pilot ladder before a pilot boarding and notices a shackle has been placed over the side ropes rather than through the designed attachment point, to save time during rigging. What should the Chief Officer do?

Accepted Answer

Reject this rigging immediately and have the ladder correctly re-rigged before the pilot boards, since a choke shackle arrangement concentrates the ladder's full weight onto a single step not designed to bear it Time pressure to get the ladder rigged before pilot boarding is exactly the kind of shortcut that produces the choke shackle pattern MAIB has flagged repeatedly — the consequence (a structural failure point where someone will be standing and transferring their full weight) is too severe to accept for a few minutes' delay.

Question 2

In a documented gangway rigging fatality, what procedural gap was identified regarding how the rigging task was normally carried out by the crew?

Accepted Answer

The rigging of the handrail was understood by the crew to be a two-person evolution, but on the day the bosun proceeded with the task essentially alone after sending the deckhand away for life vests An informally understood 'two-person job' is not the same as a documented, enforced procedure — when the second person was sent away mid-task, there was no formal trigger requiring the work to pause until they returned, which connects directly to the lone-working and procedural-documentation gaps covered elsewhere in this module.

Question 3

According to MAIB Safety Digest reporting on pilot ladder deficiencies, what is a 'choke shackle' arrangement, and why is it dangerous?

Accepted Answer

A shackle secured over the ladder's side ropes rather than properly through the designed attachment point, which brings the entire weight of the ladder onto a single step that is not designed to bear that load One of the most common pilot ladder deficiencies identified by MAIB — it looks like a minor rigging shortcut, but it concentrates load on a structural element (a single step) never designed to carry the ladder's full weight, creating a failure point exactly where a pilot or crew member would be standing.