UK Pilot May Have Had a Fatal Heart Attack While Climbing Pilot Ladder

Finnhawk (Wolfgang Berthel / Vesselfinder] — Finnhawk (Wolfgang Berthel / VesselFinder)

A British marine pilot who lost his life in a pilot ladder accident in 2023 was not medically fit to be on duty and likely suffered a heart attack mid-climb, according to a final report from the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

Humber estuary pilot Francesco Galia, 67, was off-duty at home on January 8, 2023 when he got a call from dispatch to join the ro/ro Finnhawk, which was inbound. A trainee pilot joined him at the office and drove with him to the pilot boat pier. On the transit, the trainee noticed Galia walking slowly; the trainee later told investigators that Galia had complained of back pain and poor sleep during the drive, and said he was taking painkillers. A third pilot - headed out to meet a tanker - joined them for the ride out of the harbor on the pilot boat.

Before embarking on the boat, the trainee told the third pilot that Galia appeared to be unwell. They approached Galia, who rejected an offer to switch jobs for an easier ladder climb or to remain on shore, according to MAIB. The trainee also informed the operations center staff that Galia had back pain. The pilot boat coxswain also expressed concern at Galia's slow gait as he walked down the pier - but Galia told the coxswain that he wanted to do the transit anyways, and all parties allowed him to do so.

Just before 1300 hours, the pilot boat met up with the ro/ro Finnhawk and moved into position for the pilot and trainee pilot to board. The climb up Finnhawk's side was about 21 feet. Before the transfer, the pilot boat coxswain again asked Galia if he wanted to attempt the climb, and Galia again said that he did.

The pilot boat deckhand and Galia both checked the ladder and determined that it looked fine. Galia stepped across onto the ladder and began to climb up it - but after making it about seven feet up, he looked back, leaned backwards and let go of the ladder with both hands, falling silently onto the pilot boat's deckhouse and rail. He then slid over the side between the two vessels.

Galia's lifejacket inflated as designed, and his PLB automatically activated. He remained afloat, his head above the water, and he appeared to move his arms in an attempt to stay off the cargo ship's hull. The pilot boat crew quickly maneuvered to retrieve him, and the deckhand caught him with a rescue sling. The crew brought him onto the boat's hydraulic recovery platform, but it sustained a mechanical failure and they were unable to get Galia aboard. The trainee pilot jumped down onto the platform to hold Galia's head out of the water, where he remained for the next 40 minutes.

Rescue assets were dispatched to assist, and the RNLI lifeboat out of Spurn Point arrived at 1326. It was too rough for it to come alongside, so it took some maneuvering with the lifeboat's small RIB to retrieve Galia from the water. This evolution continued until after 1340, and Galia was eventually transferred onto the RNLI lifeboat, where the rescuers began CPR. At 1355, he was winched off by helicopter and flown to shore for treatment. At the time he came aboard the helicopter, he did not have a pulse, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

A postmortem determined that the cause of death was heart disease combined with immersion in water, and noted that Galia had a 12-year history of ischaemic heart disease and hypertension prior to the casualty.

The pilot had previously had a heart attack and a stroke, plus chronic kidney disease and back pain, according to his medical records. His previous heart attack had occurred in 2011 while he was piloting a vessel, requiring a medevac, and he had been referred for medical care and had taken leave or reduced his workload multiple times. His last physical, six months before the accident, determined that he was "severely obese" and had high blood pressure; his doctor cleared him for duty with no limitations.

In the postmortem, the pathologist noted that Galia was "at risk of a sudden cardiac event occurring at any time," and it is "entirely possible that [he] suffered a sudden cardiac arrhythmia which caused him to let go." Alternatively, he could have sustained a heart attack upon entering the cold waters of the Humber. The fall had fractured his spine, and he had water in his lungs from ingesting seawater.

"It is probable that [Galia] suffered a cardiac event during the climb. This would explain why observers saw the pilot suddenly lean back, let go of the ladder by releasing both hands simultaneously, and fall backwards onto [pilot boat] Humber Saturn without making a sound," MAIB concluded.

The agency found that the doctor who performed Galia's last exam did not have access to all of his electronic medical records, did not seem aware of his past heart problems, and did not follow guidance for physical exam testing. "If the [approved doctor] had followed this guidance and assessed the pilot’s physical capability they would probably have declared him either temporarily unfit for sea or issued him with a restricted certificate to work as a marine pilot," the agency concluded.

In response, the UK MCA has rolled out an electronic medical record system for seafarer exams nationwide in order to unify the information available to physicians. Associated British Ports, which employs pilots on the Humber, has reviewed its medical standards and is strengthening requirements for new pilots. It has also added manual recovery cradles to its pilot boats as backup for hydraulic recovery platforms in case of failure.

Top image: Finnhawk (Wolfgang Berthel / VesselFinder)