Rigging and deck equipment suppliers for ships: shackles, pilot ladders and test certificates

The bosun and chief officer raise deck requisitions in practice. For pilot ladders the rules name the role: rigging and pilot embarkation are supervised by a designated responsible officer, who inspects the ladder before and after each use, with a detailed inspection every three months, under the IMO performance standards that take effect with amended SOLAS regulation V/23 on 1 January 2028.^[1]

Those standards create steady demand. At least one spare compliant pilot ladder and one spare set of manropes must be carried, and a ladder is removed from service within 36 months of manufacture or 30 months of being placed in service, whichever comes first. Under the current resolution A.1045(27), side ropes are at least 18 mm in diameter with a breaking strength of at least 24 kN each, and shackles and securing ropes at least as strong.^[1,2]

Embarkation ladders follow the LSA Code: steps not less than 480 mm long, 115 mm wide and 25 mm deep, spaced between 300 and 380 mm apart. For gangways and accommodation ladders, IMO guidelines call for supporting wires and guard ropes renewed as needed and a static test at the specified maximum working load at every five-yearly survey.^[5,9]

Loose lifting gear is examined on a cycle. On UK ships, LOLER requires thorough examination of accessories for lifting at least every six months, and ship’s lifting equipment is not used unless tested by a competent person within the preceding five years — so worn or uncertified shackles and slings are replaced, not argued over.^[8]

Shackles are the largest group in IMPA section 23 by a wide margin, followed by the Crosby range, wire clips, thimbles and sockets, turnbuckles, wood and steel cargo blocks, hatch cover parts and canvas. Chains and links, ladders, cargo hooks, dunnage bags and plywood, oil-pollution countermeasures and container lashings make up the rest.

A shackle line names the type — D or bow, screw-pin or bolt — the size and usually the working load limit; a ladder line names the length in metres or steps and the approval. Container lashing lines often follow the ship’s cargo securing manual, so the part must match what is already on board.

Quote the working load limit and the certificate type with every lifting line, and the date of manufacture with every pilot ladder — a ladder that has sat in a warehouse has already used part of its 36 months.^[1]

Deck lines travel with mooring and wire rope. On GeoMarineHub, choose section 23 among your categories and activate your ports; lines from the section posted there reach you, and bids stay sealed. Register as a supplier — free.