Rigging Equipment & General Deck Items · Pilot Ladders as per Latest MED/USCG Approved
LADDR PILOT MED/USCG APPROVED, REGULAR STEP 6MTR 232031
IMPA 232031, a 6 m approved pilot ladder with regular steps: when 6 m is long enough under SOLAS V/23, what to state, and the marking to check.
What it is
IMPA 232031 is one complete pilot ladder, 6 m long, with regular steps, supplied as a set and approved to MED and USCG rules. It sits between the 3 m (232029) and 9 m (232032) ladders of the same family. The family also lists ladders with "normalisation" steps (232030, 232033, 232034) and loose wooden and rubber steps and spreaders (232035 to 232050).
A 6 m ladder suits a ship whose point of access is low: a side door, or the platform of an accommodation ladder in a combination arrangement. SOLAS regulation V/23.3.3 allows a climb on a pilot ladder alone of not less than 1.5 m and not more than 9 m above the water. Above 9 m, an accommodation ladder is used in conjunction with the pilot ladder.[1]
How to specify and order it
Check the length before you order. The single length must reach the water from the point of access in all conditions of loading and trim, with an allowance for an adverse list of 15°. IMO’s unified interpretation says the 9 m limit for a pilot ladder alone includes that 15° list; for a combination arrangement the 15° list does not apply. The performance standards that take effect on 1 January 2028 keep the same test: reach the water from the point of access, or from the combination platform, with an adverse list of 15° in the lightest seagoing condition.[1][2]
A length alone does not describe the ladder. Under A.1045(27) the steps are equally spaced 310 to 350 mm apart, and a ladder of more than five steps has spreader steps at least 1.8 m long: the lowest is the fifth step from the bottom, with no more than nine steps between one spreader and the next. A 6 m ladder therefore has roughly 17 to 19 steps and two spreader steps. State the step count, or ask the supplier how the 6 m is measured, so that offers compare.[5]
Ask for the marking and the certificate with the ladder. Under the 2028 standards the maker marks the underside of the uppermost step and of the lowest spreader step with its name, a serial number it can validate, the date of manufacture and the approving authority. DNV lists MED as the certification for pilot ladders, tested to ISO 799-1:2019, the ISO standard for the design and specification of pilot ladders on merchant ships that embark and disembark pilots under way.[2][4][3]
The code list does not explain how "normalisation step" ladders differ from "regular step" ones. If the ship already holds one type, quote it, or ask the supplier to state the difference in the offer.
Rules and approvals
Order to the new standard now. A ladder bought today will still be in service on 1 January 2028, when MSC.576(110) takes effect. Its side ropes are a double length of uncovered rope 20 to 22 mm in diameter with a breaking strength of at least 24 kN, against at least 18 mm under A.1045(27). It also bans cable ties, U-clamps and worm-driven clips for securing steps. The four lowest steps must be rubber or an equivalent material.[2][5]
From 1 January 2028 ladders and manropes, spares included, leave service within 36 months of manufacture or 30 months of entering service, whichever comes first. At least one spare compliant ladder and one spare set of manropes are carried, and the ladder record shows when each was put into service and when it is due out. Record the date of manufacture when the ladder arrives.[2]
Questions buyers ask
- Is a 6 m pilot ladder long enough for our ship?
- Only if, from the point of access, it reaches the water in the lightest seagoing condition with a 15° adverse list. A pilot ladder alone may not be used for a climb of more than 9 m. Above that, a combination arrangement with an accommodation ladder is needed.
- What should be marked on a new pilot ladder?
- Under the standards that take effect on 1 January 2028: the maker’s name, a serial number, the date of manufacture and the approving authority, on the underside of the top step and of the lowest spreader step.
Sources
- IMO MSC.1/Circ.1495: Unified interpretation of SOLAS regulation V/23.3.3 (21 November 2014), quoting the regulation (copy hosted by the German flag administration)
- IMO Resolution MSC.576(110): Performance standards for pilot transfer arrangements (adopted 26 June 2025)
- ISO 799-1:2019 Ships and marine technology — Pilot ladders — Part 1: Design and specification (ISO catalogue page: title, edition and scope)
- DNV: Pilot transfer arrangements — information for equipment makers (MED certification and testing standards)
- IMO Resolution A.1045(27): Pilot transfer arrangements (adopted 30 November 2011)
No prices: offers come from suppliers at the port.
Published by Sherif Awad, founder of GeoMarineHub — in ship supply since 1990, a family business since 1981 (45 years). Last checked .
Specification · IMPA 232031
Read off the catalogue name · priced per set
- IMPA code
- 232031
- Unit
- SET
- Length
- 6 m
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