The Nautical Institute has launched a global competition asking maritime students and cadets to demonstrate their understanding of pilot transfer safety. The competition has the support of the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA).

IMPA’s 2026 Safety Campaign recorded an overall non-compliance rate of 13% across 4,051 entries submitted by participating members in 34 countries. Pilot ladder arrangements remained the leading source of non-compliant observations.

Open to maritime students and cadets undergoing initial maritime training worldwide, entrants must choose three requirements from IMPA’s Required Pilot Transfer Arrangements poster and explain the safety reasoning behind them. Entries may be submitted as an article of up to 800 words, a poster in Word or PDF format, or a video lasting no more than four minutes.

The winner will receive £500 in Amazon vouchers, or an alternative prize of similar value where Amazon vouchers are unavailable. Two runners-up will each receive £250 in vouchers. Entries must be submitted by 17.00 UK time on Monday 31 August 2026, with the winners due to be announced on Thursday 1 October 2026.

Captain John Lloyd FNI, Chief Executive of The Nautical Institute, said: “Pilot ladder requirements are there for a reason. Future officers need to know more than what the poster says. They need to understand what can go wrong when an arrangement is incorrectly rigged and be prepared to challenge it. We hope this competition encourages students and cadets to think about that responsibility from the start of their careers.”

Full competition details, entry requirements and supporting resources are available at 2026 ‘Pilot Transfer’ Student Competition.