The marine pilot's death last week while transferring to a cruise ship off the port of Nagasaki is the subject of an investigation by the Japan Coast Guard.
The cruise ship Diamond Princess was waiting for the pilot when it arrived in Nagasaki on May 5 morning. The pilot boarded the ship via the rope ladder when the pilot boat arrived around 05:30. While climbing the ladder, the pilot fell into the water for reasons that are still under investigation.
The Diamond Princess crew used a rescue boat to look for the pilot. He was pulled out of the water wearing a life jacket, but he was unconscious and died two hours later.
Japanese media have recognized the pilot as Yoshihiro Osuga, 69. With 15 years of experience, he was a skilled pilot.
Surface circumstances were quiet at that point, and the Japan Coast Watchman is investigating the likelihood that the pilot boat's movement might have been a causal variable.
Accidents involving pilot ladders are common, and the climb up the side of a moving ship from a moving pilot boat is risky. Marine pilots die far too frequently from falls into the water or onto the deck of their pilot boats each year. In 2020, the Sandy Snare Pilots Affiliation lost two of its individuals to direct stepping stool falls in under a year, delineating the risk.
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