Challenges for pilots
Speaking at an Innovation in Maritime Navigation Conference, Nick Cutmore, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Pilots Association highlighted the many challenges that face the modern ships pilot. Not only are ships getting larger but the operating margins in shipping channels are being reduced.
Commenting on the channels leading into ports and harbours, Cutmore said, “The margins between the ship and the channel edges are being reduced, in many cases below the IMO minimum specifications. Added to this is the reduced manoeuvrability of many modern ships. These ships are designed for efficient operations on the high seas where a small rudder can improve efficiency. However these small rudders are reducing the steering capability of the ship in harbour operations at low speeds.”
“Crews are being reduced as more and more on-board systems are being automated but this reduction means that crews are taking much longer to attach tug lines as they can only do one end of the ship at a time and the distance between forward and aft mooring stations is growing with the increasing size of the ship. Visibility from the bridge of many container ships is also being reduced and often falls below IMO standards.”
Commenting on the smaller margins now found in many shipping channels Cutmore said, “We are sometimes finding ships being required to operate with a negative under keel clearance. They are using the soft mud found in many dock approaches as an additional depth of water to bring in deeper draft ships or to dock earlier on a rising tide. The pressures on pilotage operations are growing all the time.”
By Dag Pike
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