Rigging Equipment & General Deck Items · Pilot Ladders as per Latest MED/USCG Approved
STEP RUBBER FOR MED/USCG, PILOT LADDER 530X120X80MM 232037
IMPA 232037, a rubber step for a MED/USCG pilot ladder: why the lowest steps are rubber, replacement-step marking, the two-step limit and the 2028 ban.
What it is
IMPA 232037 is a single rubber step, 530 × 120 × 80 mm, for a MED/USCG approved pilot ladder with regular steps. It is sold per piece. Its neighbours are the wooden regular step 232035 (525 × 115 × 63 mm), the wooden repair step 232038, and the rubber step for normalisation ladders 232048.
Rubber steps belong at the bottom of the ladder. A.1045(27) allows the four lowest steps to be rubber. The USCG rules and the performance standards that take effect on 1 January 2028 require the four lowest steps to be rubber or a resilient moulded material.[1][3][2][5]
How to specify and order it
Order steps from the maker and model of the ladder they will go into, so that the size and the way the step is fixed to the side ropes match. The USCG rules require a step to be replaceable without unstringing the ladder.[3]
Check the marking on arrival. Under USCG rules a replacement step is white or yellow instead of the bright orange of an original step, and is marked "REPLACEMENT STEP ONLY". Moulded steps must be rubber or resilient plastic.[3][4][2]
The code fixes the outside size but not how the step is secured. Measure a step already on the ladder and state whether you want a step for a new ladder or a slotted replacement step with its fixtures.
Rules and approvals
Under A.1045(27), no pilot ladder should have more than two replacement steps secured by a method different from the original construction. Such steps should be replaced by original-method steps as soon as reasonably practicable. Where a replacement step is held by grooves in its sides, the grooves are in the longer sides.[1]
From 1 January 2028, under MSC.576(110), repair or replacement of pilot ladder steps or spreader steps is prohibited. A ladder with a damaged step is taken out of service and replaced. Loose steps are only useful until then.[5]
Questions buyers ask
- How many replacement steps can a pilot ladder have?
- Under A.1045(27), no more than two steps secured differently from the original construction, and those should be replaced with original-method steps as soon as reasonably practicable.
- Can we still replace a pilot ladder step after 2027?
- No. From 1 January 2028 the performance standards under SOLAS V/23 prohibit repair or replacement of steps or spreader steps. The ladder is replaced instead.
Sources
- IMO Resolution A.1045(27): Pilot transfer arrangements (adopted 30 November 2011)
- 46 CFR 163.003-11 Materials (USCG pilot ladders, via Cornell LII)
- 46 CFR 163.003-13 Construction (USCG pilot ladders, via Cornell LII)
- 46 CFR 163.003-25 Marking (USCG pilot ladders, via Cornell LII)
- IMO Resolution MSC.576(110): Performance standards for pilot transfer arrangements (adopted 26 June 2025)
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Published by Sherif Awad, founder of GeoMarineHub — in ship supply since 1990, a family business since 1981 (45 years). Last checked .
Specification · IMPA 232037
Read off the catalogue name · priced per piece
- IMPA code
- 232037
- Unit
- PCS
- Material
- rubber
- Size
- 120 × 80 mm
Also in Pilot Ladders as per Latest MED/USCG Approved
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