july 2006 no.286 c i pilot s a s s o editorial automatic ......july 2006 2 the pilot being...

Editorial: John Clandillon-BakerAutomatic Mooring Systems JCBPension News Debbie MartenSection Committee Report Joe WilsonTechnical & Training Gareth ReesMeester Pilot - Where are you? JCBPEC Working Group

Alfred William Venn G Barrett VennKristian Pedersen’s AppealPort Skills Safety LimitedConference datesObituariesTour pour la MerLetterChairman: Les Cate JCB

Vacuum Mooring So far as I can ascertain the first company to establish avacuum automatic mooring system was Mooring SystemsLimited (MSL) who designed and manufactured the “IronSailor” vacuum system. MSL equipment has been adoptedby several shipping and port companies especially inAustralia and New Zealand.

Internal flush mounted.The first “Iron Sailor” system, was installed on the rail

passenger ferry Aratere (150m, 12,000 grt.) and since

Editorial

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JULY 2006 No.286The official organ of the United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’Association

DIVIDE D W E FALL

UNITE

DWESTAND

In This Issue

This year has so far been a disastrous onefor shipping accidents which hasregrettably resulted in an enhancement ofpublic image of shipping as a poorly runand dangerous industry. The run ofdisasters started on Christmas day 2005with the grounding of the APL Panama onthe beach at Ensenada in Mexico where sheremained stubbornly in place until finallybeing refloated in March. In February, thetragic capsize and total loss of the Al SalamBoccaccio 98 ferry in the Red Sea with nosurvivors, coupled with deaths of seafarersin several other disasters has also served tomake this one of the worst years formaritime fatalities. It may just be that I amreceiving more press reports of incidentsbut there definitely seems to have been analarming increase in collisions andgroundings with several occurring aroundthe UK. Despite the fact that pilotagewaters are acknowledged as the mosthazardous section of a vessels voyage, onlya minimal number of these incidents haveoccurred with a pilot on board thusconfirming the need to retain traditionalpilot recruitment and training policies.

With no national newspaper or majormedia outlet having a shippingcorrespondent, the shipping industry isfaced with an uphill battle to portrayshipping in a positive light but IMPA are atleast attempting to redress the balance.Building on the encouraging response tolast year’s World Maritime Day, IMPAPresident, Geoff Taylor, has been establish-ing contacts within the general media tohold another event this autumn. Althoughthe programme has yet to be finalised Iknow that Geoff is hoping to arrange animportant international media event andalso to get pilots to contact their localmedia and try to get someone out on aship. It is in all our interests that wehighlight the essential role that shippingplays in everyday life and although I knowthat Geoff’s catchphrase is “the sound ofsafety is silence” we should loudly trumpetthe essential safety role that pilots play inensuring that shelves of the retail outletsremain fully stocked. When details of theinitiative are finalised, I urge you all to giveit your full support.

John Clandillon-Baker

Automatic Mooring SystemsOne of the highest risks to crews occurs during mooring and unmooring operations andanother of the unacknowledged roles of the pilot is to ensure that the vessel is kept undercontrol in frequently difficult and sometimes marginal conditions until the mooringoperation is completed. Standing on an exposed bridge wing in a gale being lashed by ablizzard every pilot looks at the average mooring equipment and methodology of themooring procedure and realises that the only aspect of the operation that has changedsince the invention of the mechanical mooring winch in the 19th century is that there arenow less crew to operate them and the whole process of stoppering off ropes and wires(yes it still happens even on brand new ships!) and turning them up on bitts takes longerthan it ever did!! Even on vessels equipped with mooring winches once the ship is inposition the agony is prolonged as the moorings are then slacked down and a crew mangrabs an improvised metal hook and hauls the mooring through a slot on the main winchonto a secondary drum where the turns must fill the drum and not overlap. Trying to holda vessel under control whilst the elements do their damndest to defeat you brings twothoughts to mind. Firstly, we are not paid enough for the responsibilities that we shoulderand the second is, surely there must be a better way of mooring a ship in the 21st century!!

Well there is good and bad news here. The good news is that I am aware that twocompanies are now manufacturing and installing automatic mooring systems. However,before you all get too excited, these systems are expensive and require the shore to re-design their jetty configuration and most of all take full responsibility for the safety of thevessel whilst alongside. One system also requires specialist deck fittings. So the concept isfine for regular trades such as ferries and passenger vesselsbut for the other berths I think that we will just bewatching with envy as the freight ferry slides into position,is grabbed or sucked alongside, and rings finished withengines all in the space of a few minutes!!

However, it is interesting to examine the three systemscurrently in use provided by two manufacturers.

Aratere

July 2006 2 The Pilot

being commissioned in 1990 it has safely handled over 10,000automatic mooring operations. This system is a specific ship basedsystem that comprises of 4 units rated at 20 tonnes each. The unitsare positioned in pairs with two units forward on the ship and two

units aft. When not in use theyretract to be flush with the hulland when the vessel approachesthe berth they are activated fromthe bridge wing extending outthrough hull doors to attach to asteel plate on the berth.

Externally mountedThe externally mounted unit is

designed to be retrofitted toexisting ships. The unit is stowedat deck level (when not in use).Activated by the master the unitstravel down the hull of the shipand couple with a plate mountedon the shore.

RecessedThe recessed system is designed

to meet the needs of smaller craftsuch as barges and it permits themto automatically secure to largervessels for transshipment oper-ations.

It will be noted that all thesevacuum systems can only attachto a flat metal surface. Thisobviously limits the vessel tospecific berths where the shorepads can be precisely aligned withthe vessel’s optimum mooringposition. In the latter recessed

system the barge can only use the system for mooring on theparallel flat side of a vessel which probably restricts its use onbunker barges and stores vessels which usually end up under thecounter somewhere.

I have never come across any vessels fitted with automaticmooring systems but apart from the flush mounted ferryarrangement I would suspect that being exposed to the elementsboth the externally mounted and recessed systems would veryshortly succumb to contact damage and sea water corrosion. Iwould also anticipate that the installation and maintenance costsare very high which would impact on the cost benefit analysis.

Shore based systemThis seems to be where thefuture lies because thevacuum pads are located onthe jetty and lock onto theship’s side. The only onboard equipment required isthe telemetry control systemon the bridge wings whichenable the master or pilot toactivate / de-activate thepads for remote mooring /unmooring operation.

In March 2004, MooringSystems Limited enteredinto an alliance with theCavotec Group grantingthem the licence for the

manufacture, marketing and service of their products. Themooring systems are now named “Moor Master” and can betailored to suit various berth / vessel configurations with theadvantage of compact storage when not in use. This also enablesthe system to rest behind the maximum fender impact line duringberthing. When activated, the vacuum pad support frame isextended outwards and the vacuum mooring connection isestablished in around 10 seconds. Unmooring takes around 2seconds.

How does it work?Good question so here is the blurb from the brochure:

Instead of a rope, the products use vacuum pads to provide themooring attachment. Each pad has a measurable working load,providing a powerful physical attachment between ship and shore.MSL’s vacuum pads have been tested and rated under thesupervision of the international classification societies Det NorskeVeritas (DNV) and Lloyds Register. When combined with theinnovative, three dimensional supporting apparatus, the mooringunits emulate the range of movement, resilience and elasticity of aline mooring. Today, MSL’s standard vacuum pads can cope withextensive surface irregularities and are able to slide under extremeloads without significant seal deformation or loss of attachment.Because the mooring units attach to the ship closer to thewaterline and immediately counteract mooring forces, the systemhas a greater mooring efficiency than angled ropes. By usingsophisticated internet based control software the system permitsthe user to monitor performance clearly communicating allessential mooring load information in real-time. Full controlmechanisms and proper load measurement combined with robustcommunication systems are required to avoid unacceptable riskswith the vacuum couple and the overall integrity of the mooring.

Mooring load information is produced from the measurement ofvacuum efficiencies and from monitoring athwartships and foreand aft hydraulic cylinders.

With a full knowledge of the mooring conditions at all times, theoperator has complete control and understanding of the mooredstate of the vessel. MSL is currently the only company in the worldto have successfully designed, implemented and proven shipvacuum mooring in a commercial environment. In this processthey have discovered key elements of intellectual property relatingto their designs and processes. MSL has protected these featureshaving a number of patents pending internationally.

So, it would appear that the systemis very robust with presumably aback up vacuum pump system andpower supply in case of malfunctionor power failure. The wholeoperation is totally automatic andonce the vessel is alongside thevessel is moored by pressing a greenbutton marked “moor”. Unmooringis achieved by pressing a red buttonmarked “detach”.

What happens whilst the vessel is alongside?The position of the vessel is monitored constantly and if there is arise or fall in the tide the vacuum pads are mounted on verticalrails and move up and down with the vessel. If the tide range takesthe pad to the extremity of the rail travel then in less than 15seconds the pad will automatically detach from the hull, repositionto the mid travel position and lock on again. In order that thevessel doesn’t break adrift the units are programmed not torelocate at the same time. This operation can also be undertakenmanually at any time from the on board control panel. When

Above: Externally mountedBelow: Recessed

Cavotec vacuum “Moor Master”

Just press green to moor!

The Pilot 3 July 2006

mooring, the position doesn’t have to be exact. If once the pads arelocked on it is found necessary to move the vessel this can be doneby the pads themselves which can also move horizontally. Themaster or pilot just programmes in the distance to move ahead orastern and the pads will move the vessel the required distance.Again, if this distance is greater than the rail travel length then thepads will detach in sequence and re-locate automatically.

With respect to wind effects the fact that these systems havemainly been fitted to ferries would indicate that they are capableof holding a vessel securely in high winds as claimed.

Why are they not everywhere?Obviously such units don’t come cheap and as we are all awareberth operators are very reluctant to spend any money at all oneven basic essentials such as fendering and in many cases theyallow the berth to deteriorate to such an extent that when someunfortunate pilot comes alongside something falls off. Thesubsequent insurance claim then refurbishes the facility for a fewmore years! Exaggeration? Possibly but in London it has taken 4years for a major container berth to fit sufficient bollard to moora ship traditionally with the headlines/stern lines from two largecontainer vessels sometimes all being placed on the same bollardand a new tanker berth was constructed with no bollards forbreast ropes and these are still not present! The other factor hereis liability and it is a major issue. Again on the Thames there is afacility which used to provide a shore gangway for a nominalcharge. The gangway now sits unused because the berth operatorhas been advised that if they provide it they are liable for it whilsta vessel is alongside and if anyone is injured or killed whilst usingit (the highest cause of maritime injury and death) they could beheld liable. With a mooring system the berth operator isresponsible for ensuring that it won’t fail whilst a vessel isalongside. The majority of berth operators will therefore baulk atthe cost and liability aspects of automatic mooring systems sodon’t chuck the long-johns or balaclavas away just yet!!

Other systemsI have discovered another company manufacturing and installingautomatic mooring systems and this is a Swedish company calledTTS Port Equipment who manufacture the “Automooring”system. This company has been commissioned by the Swedish Portof Trelleborg to provide mooring equipment for a railway berth.The specification demands that the system can handle a transverseload of up to 1,000 kN, for the Scandlines vessels Skåne andMecklenburg, whilst berthed via a stern ramp.

The Automooring system comprises of a framework fixed to thequay, inside which runs a vertically rolling unit activated by

hydraulic motor. A mooring hook is connected to the unit andautomatically centred within the fixed stand. Rather than avacuum this system uses a hook and lug arrangement withdedicated equipment along with specialist control and telemetryunits ashore and on board to connect the hydraulic shore mooringarms. Again the brochure makes the following claims:

Two hydraulic cylinders supply mooring force and the mooringsystems are remotely controlled and therefore don’t require anyquay-side personnel. The safety and efficiency of mooringprocedures are improved by the system as its performance ismonitored and its status is reported to operations staff in real-time. The system will require only one operator and will beremotely controlled with its load monitoring and alarm functionsrelaying information to operations staff in real-time. The designpermits vessels to remain securely moored, even during power cutsor loss of control signals.

As with the Cavotec on board systems this arrangement requiresa special slot and groove to be cut into the ships side which as wellas being expensive will be vulnerable to contact damage and theelements.

Semi automaticMooringWith this arrangement thevessel still uses its ownmooring ropes but the shorebollard is located on ahydraulically operated armwhich tilts towards the shippermitting the crew to dropthe mooring rope over it.Once the rope is attached thearm returns to the verticaland the line is tensioned inthe usual manner. Thebollard can be operated fromthe shore or from on boardbut again this system is onlypractical for use with thesame class of vessel for thebollard to correctly alignwith the mooring point onthe vessel.

TTS also manufacture avacuum system which looksvery similar to the Cavotecequipment but the illust-rations don’t seem to showany horizontal movementcapability.

ConclusionWell here we are in 2006 and I am sure that in 1906 few sailorswhen securing their ship would have thought that 100 years ontheir contemporary counterparts would be using similar mooringequipment and still turning ropes up on bitts. At least somecompanies are developing alternatives but the day when every shipcan drop alongside a berth and be all fast in 10 seconds still seemsa long way off!

JCB

My thanks to Andy Bell MNI for providing the information on theCavotec mooring systems.

PS I would be very interested to hear from anyone who hasexperience of this equipment.TTS hook and lug

TTS semi automatic mooring


PENSION NEWSTHE SECRETARIATWell 6 April 2006 (A-Day) has come andgone and both Richard and I appear tohave survived, but it has been a dramaticchange and it is clear that it will be sometime before the dust completely settles. Thenew rules are radically different and wehave a whole new set of terms andacronyms to get used to. Expressions likeBenefit Crystallisation Event (BCE) andPension Commencement Lump Sum(PLCS). Well I suppose it keeps us frombecoming complacent!

Rules & Explanatory BrochureBenefit changes arising from the 2004valuation as well as tax simplification havemeant major revisions to the ExplanatoryBrochures and the Rules. We hope to be ina position to provide pilots with updatedcopies in the near future.

Annual Report & Accounts 2005The Trustees Annual Report & Accountsfor the year ending 31 December 2005 hasbeen sent out to all active pilots andpensioners of the Fund. If you have notreceived a copy and wish to do so pleasecontact the Secretariat on tel. no. 01732779460.

Investment StrategyThe Trustees are in the process ofimplementing the investment strategy, asrecommended by the InvestmentConsultant, following his review of theFund’s asset allocation. To this end on 1stNovember 2005 £40m was disinvestedfrom the equities portfolio and transferredto Goldman Sachs InvestmentManagement for investment in their fundof hedge funds, Direct Strategies II.

A further £50m is to be disinvested fromequities and transferred to Quellos EuropeLimited for investment in their fund ofhedge funds QIP Ltd. This investment willcommence from 1 July 2006.

Once the value adding assets are in placethe Trustees will be turning their attentionto the bonds and equity managers.

Summary of Funding StatementBy no later than 22 September 2006 theTrustees must send to members an annualfunding statement. If no scheme fundingvaluation has been completed prior to thisdate then the funding statement must bebased on the most recent MFR valuation.

The statement will be the members’ main

source of information on how securelytheir benefits are being financed and mustexplain the relationship between the assetsand the benefits already accrued under theFund. It should also cover the main risks tomembers of the Trustees’ investmentstrategy.

The challenge for the Trustees will be toput the information in a context that isuser friendly and easy to understand.

Government White PaperIn 2002 the Government established aPensions Commission, headed by AdairTurner, to investigate the existing‘voluntarist’ approach to retirement savingin the UK. The Commission has sincepublished three reports.

The first report set out the results of theCommission’s investigation into retirementsavings. It stated that unless people wereprepared to work longer, pay more tax andsave more they would have to acceptpoorer retirements.

The Commission’s second report set outtheir proposals of how the three-prongedapproach – save more, pay more tax orwork longer – should be balanced. Thethird report was a short reply to some ofthe criticisms levelled at the second report.

In its White Paper, Security inRetirement – towards a new pensionssystem, published on 25 May 2006 theGovernment set out how the Commission’sproposals will be put into effect. The mainfeatures of the White Paper are:-

State pension increases will be re-linkedto earnings rather than prices by 2012,subject to an affordability test that coulddelay the change until 2015.

State second pension (S2P) will be a flat-rate weekly pension payment of £60 by2030.

Contracting-out for defined contributionschemes will be abolished.

The proportion of pensioners on means-testing is estimated to fall from 45% to33%.

State pension age for women will risefrom 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020.

There will be further rises for both menand women beginning with an increasefrom 65 to 66 in 2024, then again to 67 in2044 and finally to 68 in 2046.

Employees will be automaticallyenrolled into the National Pension SavingsScheme (NPSS) at the age of 22 and willpay 4% of salary. Employers mustcontribute 3% while the Government willcontribute 1% in the form of tax relief.

The number of years of NationalInsurance Contributions (NIC) needed toqualify for a full basic state pension will becut to 30 (currently women need 39 yearsof contributions while men need 44).

Reduction of burdens on schemes bybringing forward legislation to allow

schemes to convert guaranteed minimumpension (GMP) rights into scheme benefits.

Age Discrimination RegulationsOn 1 October 2006 The AgeDiscrimination Regulations come intoeffect. The impact on occupational pensionschemes is that there will now be anational default retirement age of 65,making compulsory retirement below 65unlawful unless objectively justified.Employees will now have the right torequest to work beyond 65 or any otherretirement age set by the company. Theemployer has a duty to consider suchrequests.

Working Past Age 65The Government’s White Paper hasrestored the link between the basic statepension and rises in average earningswhich was broken in 1980 by MargaretThatcher, but to fund this change the statepension age will now rise to 68.

A recent survey carried out on 243 U.K.pension providers revealed that 85% ofschemes say their members do not want towork beyond age 65. Only 27% ofschemes surveyed said they activelyencourage members to stay on after the ageof 65. And of the individuals questionedonly 11% intend to retire at an age olderthan 65 with nearly two-thirds looked toretire before that age.

Given the results of the survey you haveto wonder if the Government really knowswhat Joe Public wants.

Debbie [email protected]

RetirementsFebruary 2006 to April 2006

MJ Clark Poole JanIB Hodge Wisbech Apr

Pensioners Deceased–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

February 2006 - April 2006–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––JM Chrisp London-West

KP Cumpstey Liverpool

A MacDonald Heysham

A MacDonald Forth

JR Peterson Forth

J Spall London-North

FB Stewart Forth

J Towell Tees


SECTION COMMITTEEWho’d be Chairman? As you will all know, Les has been on sickfor a couple of months now, and it isunfortunately beginning to look as thoughhe will have to retire on ill-health. Part ofLes’ problem has been due to the amountof work that he took on. I can sympathisewith him – every day I do somethingconcerned with pilotage, whether it is justreplying to e-mails, writing letters, phonecalls, meetings or even my day job. Sectioncommittee members give their time freelyfor the sake of UK Pilots. My wife askedme the other day why I do it, when thereare some people who do nothing, excepttheir job. There is no easy answer, but I amjust one of a team, and I guess we do it inan effort to preserve the job that we like,and for the future of pilotage.

Recently I was to travel to London at0700 for a meeting, but was on duty thenight before. As such I did a couple ofships and finished [early] at 2100. Down toLondon on the 0700 train, and into theoffice for a couple of hours, had themeeting, then back to Teesside on the 1700train, arriving home at 2000. Back on shiftthe next day!

A couple of days later a colleagueremarked that “he had had to do 4 ships

whilst I was socialising in London”. Hadhe forgotten the month earlier, where insimilar circumstances I did 6 ships on anight watch, finishing at 0330, and then setoff for the Clyde at 0800, for 2 days?

That’s the moan over, but the point isthat those pilots on committees, be itnational, international or local do give upa lot of their own time. We all realise thatto do it we rely on the support of ourcolleagues whilst we are at meetings andnot actually piloting.

Past Chairmen of the UKMPA havespent a lot of time, days on end, in theoffice in London – I, if I am electedChairman next year, do not intend to.Firstly I can see little point, and, secondly,it would probably mean [another] divorce.Yes, there will be occasions when it isnecessary, however section committee cando a lot of work these days by e-mail – wehave yet to try video-conferencing, but it iscoming. (Please note; probably thequickest way to contact me is by e-mail).There is so much information forthcomingfrom the plethora of meetings we eachattend, it is easy to spend hours working ata computer. It is a bad world out there, andthere are some people who do not have ourbest interests at heart.

I can see the value in having a “figurehead” paid for by the Association, as doIMPA and EMPA. Such a person –

President, General Secretary, or whateverwould be able to man the London office ona regular basis, carry out some of thesecretarial work, and be the first point ofcontact for most queries. An opportunityhas arisen for us that I shall be discussingwith section committee in August.

Monica does a great job on our behalf,and although “pilots come first”, she doeshave another job within the T&G. Youmay be aware that the T&G are in thethroes of an amalgamation – who knowswhat the future holds? No other section ofthe T&G has the autonomy that we have.

Humber: ABP have now appointed a QCto defend their case. We still await theirDisclosure of Documents.

Kristian: It is with regret that I have toreport that Kristian lost his appeal forunfair dismissal (see page 10).

Belfast: A contract for services was drawnup, and terms agreed, however, almost onthe eve of signing, the CHA altered theterms. As such it is back to negotiation fornow.

Boarding & Landing Code: We haveentered discussion with the Btitsih Ports’Association regarding the code (ourversion and theirs). Hopefully, as there ismuch common ground, we are close toadopting one code (see page 6).

Insurance: I have had several phone callsrelating to incidents “some time ago”where nothing was written down. It isimperative that you keep records, even ifthe incident appears to be trivial.

Pension: The PNPF Trustees meet on July17th to make a formal reply to the offerregarding the deficit, made by theAssociation. Recent changes to pensionsmay mean that some districts, self-employed, will have to look at their termsor contracts. I expect to be able to expandon that after the next trustee meeting.

The new web site is up and running, and issomewhat different. I intend to make muchmore use of this in the hope that a lot ofpaperwork can be avoided. Most localsecretaries will have been receiving e-mailsfrom me recently and many thanks for thereplies. Those that haven’t had an e-mailplease note – it’s because I don’t have youre-mail address (hint). It is not the intentionto bombard you with megabytes ofinformation, but to advise you that newinformation/circulars are available on theweb site. How you advise your colleagueswill be up to you. Those that don’t wantthe electronic notices will be able to get thepaper versions. A circular will be sentshortly.

Best wishes to all, and safe piloting.

Joe WilsonVice Chairman

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Technical& TrainingThe T & T Committee met for the 62ndtime on the 27th April at Transport House.

RNLI: John Nurser was able to bring us upto date with the integration of the newTamar class lifeboat of which two are nowin service. A new Atlantic RIB is alsoundergoing testing. At 8.5m long it has acarbon fibre hull, better seating, improvedcommunication and is powered by 2outboards providing 115hp and a speed of40 knots was achieved on trials. The RNLIare also working on a new boat to replacethe beach launch Mersey class lifeboat.The FCB2 will be powered by water jetswhich have been tested on sand andshingle and the boat will be launched froma new tractor/trailer combination to makethis dangerous operation safer. The FCB2will have the same controls as the Tamar inorder to standardise training courses. Incase you have wondered what happens tothe older lifeboats they are sold to sisterorganisations around the world.

PPE POLICY: The Committee took theopportunity to review the contents of thePersonal Protective Clothing andEquipment Policy which was originallywritten in October 2001. A copy of thePPE policy will be placed on the newUKMPA Website when it is up and runningbut unhtil then if you would like a copyplease let me know and I can email youone. It was agreed that the subject of hardhats is one which should be dealt with atlocal level. A number of Districts havemoved away from using the SeaSafe jacketpreferring instead a waterproof coat andlife preserver. If you are one of theseDistricts we would be interested to hearingwhat equipment you are using. Again yourattention is drawn to the PPE Policy whichoutlines the standards that should be metby such equipment.

PILOT BOARDING & LANDING CODE:This subject is one that is currently on theagenda of the Port Marine Safety CodeWorking Group chaired by the MCA. Youmay recall in 2001 the Ports Associationsissued a ‘new Code’ without consultationwith the UKMPA. The T&T Committeehad serious safety reservations aboutcertain sections of this 2001 Code As aresult the UKMPA issued our ownBoarding & Landing Code which hasrecently been updated to include changesin legislation. This UKMPA Code is nowbeing tabled with the MCA and the Portsand it is hoped that agreement will bereached soon and once finalised the codewill be placed on the website. The topic of

man-overboard exercises was raised andyour attention is drawn to MGN 50 –Manning of Pilot Boats and particularlysect. 1.3.1 which says CHAs shouldrequire man-overboard retrieval exercisesto be conducted by each Pilot boat crew atintervals of not less than six months. Thisrequirement is put in for our safety soplease could you let us know if your crewsare complying with the MGN.

PILOT TRAINING: The whole issue of PilotTraining is under discussion now that PortSkills and Safety Ltd. seems to be workingtowards a national Pilot qualification. TheCommittee has been asked by SectionCommittee to review the NationalOccupational Standards with respect tothe competencies required for Workingwith Tugs.

E-NAVIGATION: You may have readrecently that the Shipping Minister, Dr.Ladyman, called for the UK to take aglobal lead in the introduction of e-navigation systems. It has been defined asthe transmission, manipulation and displayof navigational information in electronicformat. The Minister suggested that AIS isan essential step towards e-navigation andthe MCA has committed £2.7m towardsinstalling a shore AIS infrastructure. E-navigation will be delivered by use of GPSthrough onboard devices such as ECDISand replicated on shore with shore basedmonitoring and intervention capability.

AIS: While AIS underpins e-navigation,problems have been experienced throughcontamination of radar and ECDISdisplays by the tug’s AIS. The closeproximity of the tug results in continualcollision alarms being displayed by theradar and gives two vectors, that of ownship and tug, as to lead to possiblemisinterpretation. If anyone hasexperienced similar problems we wouldlike to hear about it.

MARNIS (Maritime Navigation & Inform-ation Service: www.marnis.org) is aEuropean funded project in which EMPAis playing a key role in the development ofa Port Operational Approach DockingSupport System (POADSS). As mentionedin previous issues of The Pilot such asystem is based on the lap top or PortablePilot Unit (PPU) which is currently beingused in some Ports. The main objectives ofPOADSS are to improve the safety andefficiency in ports and approaches,improve fairway usability, exchange ofinformation with VTS and other port usersand help to prepare and then execute thedynamic passage plan. EMPA’scontribution is being managed by theDutch Pilot Company, NLC, and the UK isbeing represented by the Technical &

Training Committee who have co-optedNigel Allen of Southampton to help outwith this time consuming role. Nigel hasalready attended several meetings. I hopethe importance of the MARNIS project canbe appreciated when seen alongside theconcept of e-navigation and the need tokeep control of the navigation on thebridge of the ship. There are a number ofthese navigational tools being used bycolleagues around the Districts and it wasinteresting to read the MAIB report intothe grounding of the Lerrix in the BalticSea which was published on the 11th April2006. During the investigation it emergedthat the master was using a portable GPSconnected to a personal laptop running apirated navigation package as his primarysource of navigation. The piratedprogramme, obtained from the internet in1999, had not been updated and thealarms were inoperative. The reportrecommends that Rix Shipping Ltdestablish a policy to guard againstinappropriate use of personal navaidscarried by crew members.

UK SAFETY OF NAVIGATION (UKSON):The MCA are about to embark on a studyinto the misuse of AIS so you may findyourself being asked to take part in thisstudy. The Sunk Working Group arecoming to the end of their work on theproposed changes to the traffic separationscheme around the Sunk Lightship and theproposed changes are to go before IMO. Anew TSS is to go ahead at The Minches in2007.

PILOT FATIGUE: An issue that is very muchto the fore at the present time. There isnow a Pupillometer available on themarket to help test for fatigue. Thecorrelation between pupil response andhelping diagnose, amongst a number ofthings, chemical/substance abuse andhuman fatigue has been known for sometime. An American company from Illinios,MCJ Eyecheck www.mcjeyecheck.com,have now developed a Pupillometer thatresembles a pair of binoculars whichmeasures the contraction and dilation ofthe pupil when subject to flashes of light.This method is currently being used byBelgium Pilots to measure fatigue and isalso being considered for use by theSwedish Coastguard.

SOLAS: The meeting heard of a situation inwhich the MCA considered prosecuting aPilot for sailing a vessel without a workinggyro. It is a SOLAS requirement that allships over 500grt should have a gyrocompass, or other means, to determine anddisplay their heading by shipborne non-magnetic means and to transmit headinginformation to radar and AIS.

Gareth Rees: [email protected]


All pilots know that the pilot boarding and landing area is onefraught with hazards, not least because whilst awaiting their pilotsmany vessels’ masters appear to forget about navigation andseamanship, either in their desire to be first in the queue or becauseonce they see the pilot cutter they relax their guard. Collisions andnear misses are regrettably not infrequent. IMO resolution A960and the boarding and landing code detail the need for such areasto be placed where there is adequate sea room to manoeuvre butthere have recently been two serious groundings as a result ofMasters failing to wait a safe distance off the port and proceedingpast the charted pilot boarding area into disaster. Thesegroundings involving the vessels Cape Flattery and APL Panama,occurred despite there being no other vessels navigating in thevicinity to restrict their ability to manoeuvre and both highlighthow poor navigation, coupled with a loss of vigilance by thebridge team, can, in a few moments result in claims running intotens of millions.

Whilst the report into the Cape Flattery has recently beenreleased, the report into the grounding of the APL Panama offEnsenada has not yet been concluded but there is sufficientevidence to point to a total failure of the bridge team during theapproach to the port.

M.V. Cape Flattery:Barbers Point Harbour. Oahu, Hawaii.The 170m long bulk cargo ship Cape Flattery loaded with around27,000 tonnes of cement went aground on a coral reef about 4cables from the harbour entrance on the morning of February 2,2005. The ship remained aground for nine days until enoughcargo was removed to refloat it and the damage to the ship isestimated at around $21 million. Fortunately no one was injuredand there was no pollution but the reef was badly damaged andthe restoration costs of this will be considerable.

The Coast Guard investigation of the incident concluded thatthe grounding was caused by negligence by the captain and he wascondemned for:

� Not waiting for the Honolulu-based pilot to board prior toentering port as required by port rules.

� Failing to respond to the pilot’s radioed advice that the vesselwas standing into danger and that he should alter course.

� Not using radar, not paying heed to channel lights and markers,and not following the charted course for the harbour entrance.The investigation also faulted the ship for not having a

functioning echo depth-sounder and not having enough ship’sofficers on the bridge.

In his defence the Chinese Captain told Coast Guardinterviewers that he had expected Aloha Tower to inform him if heneeded to wait for the pilot and the report also states that he alsowas angry that neither the Coast Guard or Aloha Tower hadwarned him that he was in dangerous waters!!

APL Panama:Ensenada, Mexico.Although the official report into this grounding will not bereleased for some time there is a wealth of comment on thisdisaster on the Internet mainly because the vessel found its wayonto a popular tourist beach on Christmas day where during the

next 80 days it provided an interesting spectator event ascontainers were offloaded by helicopter, a temporary roadway andquay was constructed and an increasing number of tugs arrived totry to salve the vessel. The vessel was finally towed clear on 10thMarch following the construction of a special dredged channel!

In an almost identical set of circumstances to the Cape Flatterygrounding the vessel failed to stop and wait near the pilotboarding position. It is alleged that although the pilot was bookedfor 1900 the Master had advised his agent that he would be at thepilot boarding position at 1800 and was annoyed that the pilotwas not there to meet him. There are several press reports whichindicate confusion and failure of the bridge team, but whateveractually happened on the bridge the result was that the APLPanama ended well up the beach indicating a high speedgrounding. The pilot was on his way out to the vessel and saw theimpending disaster unfolding. The following is an extract fromThe San Diego Union-Tribune. “Capt. Fernando RamirezMartinez (the allocated pilot) said he and a co-pilot were leavingthe port to meet the vessel about 6pm Dec. 25 when they spottedthe 880-foot vessel heading across the harbour’s entrance channeland aiming straight for the shore.

“I saw the lights and I couldn’t believe it, I just couldn’t believeit. I told the tugboats, ‘Leave the port, because the ship is about torun aground. I suggested to him that we get the tugboat Coral andsend it a line so that it could try to keep (M/V APL Panama) at thatposition. The captain said he didn’t want to give the line, that hecouldn’t because that would mean it was salvage and wouldprompt a host of legal problems”. The report goes on to state thathalf an hour passed before the Captain agreed to pass a line to thetug but by then it was too late. The Newspaper also consultedexperts on the possible claims that would be made which theylisted as follows:

Delay expense, salvage operators, equipment rental, lost cargobookings, lost revenue, security, vessel rotation disruption, cargoclaims, environmental claims, lawsuits, legal expense,environmental clean up expense, increased insurance premiums,fines, penalties, lost manufacturing time, product delivery delays,bribes and crane expense for pizza delivery up to the crew. (Theyare probably still liable for the pilotage charge as well!! Ed.)

Despite these two dramatic cases there are still those who feeblyargue that compulsory pilotage is a waste of money and restrictsfree trade!!

An on-line weblog with some excellent photos cataloguing thewhole saga can be found at: www.cargolaw.com/2006nightmare_apl_panama2.html

Loads of other interesting links there as well.JCB

MEESTER PILOTWHERE ARE YOU?

APL Panama taking a Christmas vacation on Ensenada beach!


My father died just six weeks short of hisone hundredth birthday. He was the lastknown survivor of the Bristol ChannelSailing Pilots.

At the height of the industrial revolution,the new coal ports of South Wales becameboom towns – the Silicon Valleys – of theirday. Great wealth was created andcommerce from Swansea to Newport, andgood Welsh coal was shipped to the fourcorners of the world to fuel the new era.Even the great port of Bristol, once thesecond city in England, was overtaken bythe convergence of rail, canal and theinevitable melding of coal, steel, iron andthe mighty machines it brought forth.

Central to the sea-going operation werethe one hundred and fifty or so pilots longheralded as master of their calling. TheBristol Channel is one of the most difficultbodies of waters in the world to navigate,with violent seas, the second mostpowerful tides and attendant currents, andendless changing mud and sandbanks. Toqualify for admittance to the ranks ofpilotage took half a lifetime, and the boatsmatched the same degrees of excellence towhich the men aspired.

Of these craft much as been written,indeed whole books have been devoted. Inessence – they were 40 to 50 feet overall,beam 10 to 14 feet and carried a draft of 7to 10 feet. Ballasted with concrete betweendeck and sometimes movable pig-ironbars. They had a number of innovativefeatures including a retractable boom, androller-reeling called “Appledore”. Thedecks were clear of skylight or otherobstruction which might impair thehandling of gear or the boarding punt.Daylight below was provided by glassprisms fitted flush to the deck.

These boats were considered the mostadvanced fore-and-aft craft of the periodand even today they are held as the finest

designed cruising boat, fast and able in allweathers by yachtsmen who see the fulllength keel an essential feature inseaworthiness and ease of handling. Inspite of the fact that they were called, andrigged, as cutters, they were known as“skiffs” by the pilots. The all importantdinghies that dropped and picked up thepilots, rejoiced in the somewhat frivolousname of “Punts”. Although the Bristolboats started the name of “skiffs,” theWelsh boats, at least for a time also usedthe term “Yawls” even though it wasusually only Swansea who opted for twomasts. As they would now say, “go figure!”

It was into this world that my father wasborn in December of 1906. He was theeldest son of his namesake – Pilot AlfredW. Venn of Newport, his skiff was theDorothia named after his eldest daughter.In those days piloting was much a familybusiness, and in spite of fierce competitiononce at sea, there was a good deal ofsocializing and even intermarriage betweenpiloting clans. My father’s youngest sister,Joan, married into one of the most famouspilot families – the Rays of Bristol, thenWales. One of the early Rays assisted theexplorer John Cabot as he left to explorethe new world in 1497. Since that time,many generations of Rays haddistinguished themselves in the service.

Born at the end of the Edwardian age,his early memories threw a light on thatera. He remembers riding in a hansom cabin London, seeing American “doughboys”in WWI in their cowboy campaign hats,and the memorable day he was taken, midweek, to chapel to a memorial service for“a liner that hit an iceberg mid-Atlantic,and the souls of the poor crew andpassengers who drowned.”

When he became a teenager, he wastaken to a marine outfitters, bought a pairof seaboots, oilskins and a southwester,and signed articles as an apprentice withhis father. On the pilot boat there wereusually three crew, the master, the pilothimself (sometimes called “Boss” by thecrew to his face or “the Old Man” at othertimes.) The man-the-boat, a person ofinfinite talents and a jack-of-all trades.Lastly the apprentice, usually called “Boy,”or sometimes stronger expressions at atime that the sensitivity of the young wasnot given much account. He was, like allwho find themselves beholden to others fortheir advancement and instruction, thegeneral dogsbody, with multiple dutiesfrom hauling casks of water to fill the 60gallon tanks, to repairing or even makingsails, cooking a hearty meal on the ironstove, and taking a turn at the tiller. Buttiring and tedious as these duties may havebeen, there was one in particular thattested his skill and courage. That was thedropping or picking up his pilot using thepunt. About ten feet long, four and a half

beam with a narrow keel, square stern, anda full midship section, the punt wasreported to be very light and a splendid seaboat. The punt was always sculled with asingle ten foot oar, and she was stored inher chocks, right way up, on the port side.When it was “out punt” it wasmanhandled over the side. The Bristolboats had a bulwark that could beremoved for this purpose. The actualprocess of bringing it alongside the lee ofthe larger vessel was, as always, verydemanding on the seamanship of theapprentice, or whoever was doing theskulling, and at night, or with any sort ofsea running, it could be a dangerous andskillful venture. My father said that eventhough cork lifejackets had to be availableit was considered “sissy” to be seenwearing one. This pride cost a number oflives.

As I mentioned, competition was fierce!There were three types of Bristol Channelsailing pilots – there were the so-called“Cinchers”, who seemed to be aforerunner of dock pilots and who workedaround the river mouth, and served thedeep-loaded ships that went to the variouswharves in the river. Secondly, there werethe most amusingly called “Crack of DawnBoys” from mainly Barry. They set sail atdawn for a chance at a ship slippingthrough the net and missed by the last classof pilots – the so-called “Westermen,”These were considered the cream of thecrop since they went after the bigger ships,and might end up in Liverpool or Belfast,or even Dungeness in their relentless questfor work.

The aim of this game was to be thefurthest west of your rivals in order to winthe right of getting the job. Sometimes thisbecame a battle of wits; sailing without

Pilot skiff Dorothea

Alfred William Venn


navigation lights, rowing the skiff with bigsweeps in a flat calm night. Anything thatgot you to be the most westerly boat! Mygrandfather had a friend who was a ship’sbutcher, and he got many a tip-off of whatships were due and when.

Of course, being an apprentice was notwithout its fun either. One game the ladsinvented was “Mid-Channel Football”.There was a sand bar that only surfaced atlow tide for an hour or so. They wouldrow out, set up the pitch, and play until thewater reached their ankles at which pointthe match would be concluded the referee’swhistle and the pitch would return to thebottom of the Channel!

The pilot skiffs were moored in what is,even today called “Pilots Pill”. A “Pill”being the local name for a tidal creek. Witha 40 foot tide at low water the boats wouldsit in the mud on their “legs,” duringwhich time the apprentices did what myfather described as “a fair bit ofskylarking”.

After serving his five years there camethe required deep sea time. In those days a“ticket” was not required as aqualification, so my father shipped out“before the mast”, but was rated as aquartermaster, so learned ship handling onan intensive basis. During the next fewyears he traveled to Australia, America,India and in particular, the far east.

When he finished his obligation thedepression began to set in. Jobs in generalwere few and far between and sincepiloting was a matter of waiting to fill“dead men’s shoes”, he faced years ofwaiting until his chance came. Mygrandfather suggested he work as aboatman on the River Usk at Newportwhich he did, thus becoming more familiarwith the enormous tides and currentswhich served him well when many yearslater he was responsible for the safepassage of ocean-going ships in that area.

In 1933 he married Edna Barrett, whose

maternal grandfather wasPilot Will Evans. They weremarried for 54 years duringwhich time my mother wasnever in good health. Shehad one of the first open-heart surgeries in thecountry. My father wasdevoted to her, andperformed many householdtasks without complaint.With a child on the way, hegot a job as a rigger, and wasquickly promoted tosupervisor at NewportDocks.

When WWII arrived, hewas very disappointed tofind himself too old to serve.He had hoped to help manone of the air/sea rescue

launches which were run by the RAF. So,in order to “do his bit”, he volunteered forthe Royal Observer Corps. It is importantto recall that personal telephones werealmost unknown and therefore to report tothe fire brigade after an air raid, thesolution was to station three observers onhigh building and through a system of“triangulation” advise authorities as to thelocation of fires. He spent many hoursupon the famed Transporter Bridge and St.Woloos Church tower but by 3am, theGermans would have beat it back toFrance before daylight, and he could gohome. As he had Special Constable status,he had the benefit of a lift home in a policecar. My mother used to worry what theneighbours would think about himarriving home in this form of conveyancein the wee small hours!

Father also did some work with the tugs.On one memorable trip they towed a verystrange concrete craft with a well set-upcabin below. At first it was thought to be afloating crane platform, but when theytowed it up river they found dozens of suchplatforms. They were, of course, part ofthe Mulberry Harbour.

During all this time, thepilotage in the BristolChannel underwent acataclysmic change thatwould alter their livesforever.

This is a long, sad andcomplicated story thathappened over a few years.In today’s terms, itsdescription would includesuch catch phrases as“bottom-line”, “outsourc-ing”, “in-house” and“market forces”. Briefly,what happened was that atthe end of the First WorldWar, a couple of majorsteamship companies

decided to contract with individual pilots.This destroyed a well-versed system of freelance operation that had been in place forhundreds of years. Violence erupted andone of the “chosen” pilots was tarred andfeathered by the angry wives of theaffected men. There seemed to be only onesolution – amalgamation. This had beentried years before but had come to noavail. Now, however, there as addedimpetus of financial discipline plus theintroduction of steam craft, and thepossibility of the fledgling radio to simplifythe task of a joint venture. One pilot, inlisting the pros and cons, simply stated ashis own con – “I will lose myindependence.” Even down the years I wasaware of this debate, and recall my father,who had a liberal disposition, making thecase for amalgamation against those of amore perhaps romantic and nostalgic outlook of the past.

So it was my father who was anapprentice in the two eras, from sail tosteam. (It might be of some interest thatmy own son became an engineer on a USNavy nuclear submarine, so our familywent from Scottish flax sail cloth tonucleur fission in three generations!)

When the Bristol Channel pilotsamalgamated, overnight a fleet of thesesplendid skiffs became redundant,discerning yachtsmen snapped up manybut sadly many were left as rotting hulks increeks and on mud banks.

In 1952 my father finally realised hisambition! At 46 years old he was called totake the examination before the PilotageBoard. I was in school at the time, butrecall my grandfather and him pouringover charts on the kitchen table as theysailed invisible ships in an endless varietyof states of tides by the quickest and safestroute. Passing his exams, he obtained hislicense that gave him the right to pilot fromLundy to Caerleon Bridge. By now theNewport cutter was stationed at BarryRoads, and in spite of the loss of freedom,he was compensated by a warm bedroom,

Alfred Venn (left) with the Panama Canal pilots

Belle Vue


a full time cook and a fast vessel to whiskhim to his charges.

He used to say that the Bristol Channelhas a nice muddy bottom, so it avoided aproblem of never going aground. However,he had one nightmare, and that wasrunning aground in the river with the ship’sbow on one bank and the stern on theopposite, then, with a 40 foot tide the shipunsupported would “break her back”. Itnever happened.

“About the shipwreck,” he would say,and then recount the night that the cutterin a violent storm went on the rocks atBarry. In the dark, the crew jumped aboardthe life boat and hauled away out to sea torelative safety. My father coming on deckon the port side looked through the rainand darkness and saw below him a rock,so he slid over the side. Finding a sort ofpathway, my father made his way up towhat seemed to be a lighted building. Itturned out to be the local coastguardstation, where, so he said, “They made mea nice cup of tea.” Meanwhile, the rest ofthe crew, now realizing he was missing,feared he may have perished. Afterwardshe had difficulty living this down!

Once he was contacted by the BBCwanting to know if the pilot boat couldtake a camera crew out to film theNonsuch, a 17th century replica of anexplorer’s ship. They found her off LundyIsland in a howling gale. My father told thesomewhat famous TV presenter that hewas about to see something few people hadwitnessed – a 17th century ship riding outa full gale while still at sea. But alas! All theTV people spent the trip with their headsover the side and thus missed their chanceof a lifetime!

One of his saddest jobs was taking shipson their last voyage up to Cashmores, thefamous ship breakers up the River Usk. Itdidn’t matter what she was: coaster,

warship, liner, even once a submarine, itwas always a sad moment when “FinishedWith Engines” was rung down.

One of the most difficult moments inpiloting (or so I understand) was bringinga ship into the lock-gates of NewportDock. Located at the mouth of the UskRiver there was a strong cross current, andto fit in the locks required allowing forsidewards tendency of slippage. In dockingthe largest ship ever to enter Newport,there was only 18 inches on each side ofthe ship to fit the lock. My father said itwas a good job he had brought his shoehorn with him that day!

During this period I had emigrated toCanada and I eventually moved toCalifornia to start up and eventuallymanage the financial service operation of afederal bank in San Francisco. Both myparents were regular visitors, then whenmy mother died, my father spent threemonths each winter at our home on theSan Mateo Coast, where he loved to walkaround the local harbour chatting to thelocal fisherman and generally being amember of the unofficial “dockcommittee”. We made a number of trips.Once to Death Valley, one of the hottestplaces on earth. My father would considerhimself naked if he was not in a “collarand tie” and a local ranger told me it wasthe only time he had seen a man in a tie inyears! Another memorable trip was acruise to the western Caribbean. In all histravels he had never touched the PanamaCanal, and he was delighted when thecaptain sent for him and invited him up tothe bridge to meet and observe the canalpilot at work. It appears most of thesepilots were Canadian. My father said hehad to bite his tongue he had such a desireto take over just one last time! At one pointhe whispered to himself, “Just a touch ofbow thrust,” when the pilot repeated the

order almost simultaneously. My fatherhad not lost it!

For many years he was a very proudmember of Rotary, and later one of thefounder members of Probus. His goodhumour, natural modesty and teller ofstories made him popular with all who methim. No doubt he found the fellowship hehad long enjoyed be it in the saloon of thecutter or the foc’s’le of a steamer. Whenasked how he had lived so long, he wouldtell people he had never drank or smokedand that he always had a big door at home.He would wait for this to sink in and thenwhen asked why, he would say “to let myhalo in!”

In his last years he would like to bedriven down to the moor below Newport.There he would look over the channel andsay “look, not a ship in sight!” and shakehis head.

When it became too much for him to flyto California, my wife and I, now retired,were able to spend a lot of time in frequentvisits to the UK. It became obvious as heapproached his centennial he wouldrequire more around the clock medicalattention, so he entered a nursing homewhere in December of 2005 he finally diedjust short of that centennial. Like a lot ofold sailors, he used a number of nauticalphrases. Groceries, for examples, werecalled “stores”. After he died I found apiece of paper in his jacket pocket. It washeaded “Stores for next Friday”. I had tofind a suitable verse to put on the memorialcards we were having printed. The verse Ichoose was what Shackleton said to hismen as they looked about them at anappalling disaster with nothing but afrozen and lingering death thousands ofmiles from any hope. Shackleton simplysaid to them: “Ship and stores gone – sonow we will go home.”

G Barrett Venn

Despite Barrie Youde’s very best efforts the UKMPA failed in theircase against Kristian Pedersen’s dismissal (Pilot passim). We haveas yet only received a truncated verbal version of the reasoningthat let the tribunal to this decision but it appears that the tribunalwas of the opinion that, as a point of law, because Kristian had anexpectation to be asked under his contract with ABP to be told toover carry and that ABP had an expectation that he would consentto such over carriage, then section 19 did not give Kristian theright to refuse to consent to an order to over carry.

We have off course to await the full written judgement beforewe can assess the implications, if any, this has on pilotage ingeneral, but it would appear on the face of it to drive a coach andhorses through whatever little protection pilots thought they hadfrom the Pilotage Act.

Kristian has asked for the following to be printed in themagazine:

I would like to take this opportunity to express my mostsincere and grateful thanks to you and the section

committee, to the South East Wales pilots, to all themembers and especially to David Devey and Barrie Youdefor the generous and unwavering support I have receivedthroughout this somewhat trying period.

Barrie has been a rock, my faith in him has never falteredand watching him in action has been a privilege. I cannotrecommend him highly enough.

I know that this case has been a serious drain on scarceresources and it is with the deepest regret that I am unableto bring you better news.

I am off back to Nigeria on 2nd August, but willmaintain contact in case there is anything at all I can do tohelp you in the future.

I would be very happy for you to publish this letter inThe Pilot should you think it appropriate.

Stay safe,Regards Kristian Pedersen

Kristian Pedersen’s Unfair Dismissal appeal against ABP


As reported in the April issue the UKMPA are now a consulteegroup within PSSL on pilotage standards and training issues andhas sent representatives to two events. On May 10th I attended theLaunch of the Safer Ports Initiative 2 as UKMPA representative.Hosted by the Chairman of PSSL. Des Crampton, the key part ofthe launch was a speech by Dr Stephen Ladyman, the shippingMinister which was followed by speeches by, Bo Lerenius (CEOABP Holdings), Bill Callaghan (Chairman H&SE Agency), JohnAstbury (CEO of MCA) and Hugh Robertson (Senior PolicyOfficer TUC). All speakers emphasised the need to ensure on-going focus on maintaining the improving safety record of UKports and the need to ensure that ports could attract the welltrained and skilled personnel essential to the success of a modernport. Such statements tie in with the UKMPA’s own agenda for anyfuture developments in pilot recruitment but we do have someconcerns over the proposed Maritime Foundation Degree (MFD)which we feel, unless supplemented by some vocational trainingand experience, will fail to provide the fundamental understandingof how ships handle and behave in a variety of conditions. I wasable to make this point informally to several of the PSSL membersprior to the first formal meeting which was held on the 25th Maywhere Brian Wilson attended for the UKMPA. That meetingappeared to be positive for pilots and the following is extractedfrom Brian’s report:

PSSL meeting - 25th MayPSSL are looking at the Foundation Degree (FD) as aqualification for the ports industry. The key advantage of anFD over traditional degree qualifications is that there aregrants available!

What is a Foundation Degree? – Basically it is a pointsbased standard of education which is set as an equivalent toa Higher National Diploma (HND) with both having apoints rating of 240 points. FDs are more workplace basedthan a HND and are currently taken up by the moreworkforce skills groups such as cleaning, hair dressing etc.There is little or no take up in transport, law or most of theprofessions. However, the rules state that there must be afollow on course from a FD to a full Honours degree and ittherefore should not be dismissed as a relevant qualificationfor pilots especially since it is intended to issue pilots with acertificate of competence. Already new intake cadets (now tobe known as “trainee officers”) will be following aFoundation Degree course from September. However, wewould like to see the follow through structure to a Masters,certificate and what it is worth etc.

At the moment, although it could be used as an entry levelqualification for pilot recruits coming through an “in house”training program, I doubt if the FD will be enough to sufficethe ETCS standard of STCW 95 equivalency which will bethe EU requirement for compliance with IMO A960.

Having stated that, it is of relevance to note that those whohold the new style Master’s certificate and have worked inpilotage for some years, should have the equivalent of about340 Education credit points. This is 20 points short of a PostGraduate Honours Degree (PGHD) but it is probable thatan additional course such a Bridge Resource Managementcourse for pilots would probably provide the necessaryadditional points to achieve a PGHD and this would bringus into line with the European view that pilotage is aHonours degree qualification.

There were concerns about the impending shortage offoreign labour as the existing Eastern European employeesare returning home rich and able to jump in and make large

sums of money from their countries of origin. There istherefore a desire to make the ports profession attractive tonew entrants at home.

What did the meeting achieve? The National Occupation Standards (NOS) were accepted as thestandards for Pilots, Harbour masters, VTSOs and Harbourmanagers. The pilots’ NOS are in line with ETCS so this is apositive development. A steering group has been set up to overseethe progression and to incorporate minor changes needed sincethey were written. We have a seat on this group.

ConclusionIt is encouraging that we seem to be entering a new relationshipwith the ports and the PSSL members listened to our positionviewpoint which is a positive development. The DfT and MCAalso appear supportive of our views on training and standards andappear eager to conclude the NOS issue.

The PSSL website is now fully operational and has useful links andseveral documents (including the pilots’ NOS) freely available fordownload at: www.portskillsandsafety.co.uk/

JCB

Port Skills Safety Limited (PSSL)

SP12 Launch - HQS Wellington

UKMPA ANNUALCONFERENCE 2006

Conference dates will be: 15th & 16th NovemberVenue: TGWU Centre, Grand Parade

Eastbourne, E Sussex BN21 4DNCosts will be inclusive and yet to be advised

Further information will be supplied to your local Secretary

UKMPA PRE-CONFERENCE GOLFEASTBOURNE DOWNS GOLF CLUB

Tuesday 14th Nov 2006 – TEE OFF AT 1100 – Cost £20 (Pay on the day)

BREAKFAST AVAILABLE FOR EARLY ARRIVALSOpen to all UKMPA members even if not going to Conference

SEE www.uk-golfguide.com/england/47903.html for details of venue.CONTACT MIKE FAWKE (Medway Pilots)

[email protected] • Tel 01303 243365CLOSING DATE FOR BOOKING MONDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2006.


Jeffrey Spall14 June 1933 - 3 March 2006

Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Jeff lefthome at the age of 16 and took anApprenticeship with the Hain SteamshipCompany of London. Obtaining hisMaster’s Certificate in 1959 at the age of27 he rose to the rank of Chief Officer.

Whilst on leave at his then home inSouth Shields, he met Margaret who hemarried in 1962. Home life then becamemore important to Jeff and after the birthsof Tony and Alex, he went ashore and tookup a post as Seamanship Instructor atWellesley Nautical School, in Blyth.

In 1968 the family moved to Harwich,where he became a Licensed Trinity House(North Channel) Pilot in 1969. In 1988Jeff transferred from Trinity House to thePort of London Pilots and very shortlythereafter he retired.

Jeff’s spare time was very much reflectedin his love for the “Sea”. Family holidayswere of the nautical theme, having boatson the Thames, the Norfolk Broads, andspending holidays by the Coast – never farfrom the water!

He was a member of the Royal NavalAuxiliary Service, serving 18 years and wasawarded the Good Conduct and LongService Medal. His most memorableexercise was at the Spithead Fleet Reviewfor the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977where he was Skipper on the RNXSMinesweeper Thakham.

During his retirement he became anactive member and President of theHarwich & Dovercourt Sailing Club,where he moored his boat Dolphin. Hemoved on to purchase a Fisher Catamaranon which he spent many happy hours.Moving on to the tranquillity of the InlandWaterways of England, Jeff and Margaret

enjoyed much fun on their narrow boat,Millpond.

However, Jeff always had a second boatin ‘dry-dock’ – in the garage at home – justin case there should ever be a flood intown!

When not at sea, he served theHarwich and Dovercourt community innumerous organisations. A member of theHarwich Town Council for 21 years andrepresenting the Council at variousCommittees – Jeff was very honoured tohave been elected Mayor of Harwich in1978 and 1979, with the support ofMargaret, always at his side as Mayoress.These were memorable and hectic days,juggling work, family life and service to thecommunity. Both their commitment andhard work was acknowledged when Jeffand Margaret were invited to a GardenParty at Buckingham Palace.

Ten years were served as a member ofTendring District Council and serving onfive sub-Committees, he was Chairman ofthe Housing Committee for seven years.Jeff also took an interest in our youngergeneration, as President to ParkestonScout Group and founding Trustee to theHarwich Free-School Exhibition Found-ation. Only recently he resigned as SchoolGovernor to St Josephs Roman CatholicPrimary School having served for overtwenty years.

Up until his illness Jeff was an activemember of the Conservative Association,Tendring Sports Council Committee, TheHarwich Society and Royal British Legion.Very close to his heart, was the MerchantNavy Association Harwich Branch ofwhich he was the President and Treasurer.He would always take pride in marching atceremonial Parades and had great delightin participating in the Queen’s GoldenJubilee Parade in London. He eagerlylooked forward to seeing the foundationstone laid for a Merchant Navy Memorialto be erected later this year on the Harbourside in Harwich.

A committed Christian throughout hislife he regularly worshipped at St NicholasChurch, Harwich. He fulfilled many roleswithin the Church and served as ChurchWarden. He represented the Church as aTrustee for the Kings Church LandsCharity, Chairman of Wimbourne House,and founding member of the ShaftsburySociety North District Committee. In theChristmas of 1980 Jeff had the privilege ofrepresenting the Vicar of Harwich andtravelled by helicopter to deliver Christmasgifts to the Lightship Crew’s surroundingHarwich Harbour on behalf of the Missionto Seafarers.

His wife Margaret and his Son Tony,Daughter Alex and their respectivepartners and offspring, will sorely miss Jeff

His boundless energy and determination,despite his failing health at times, leaves usall reeling in his wake wondering what wehave achieved in comparison.

Mike Richardson Retired London (North Channel) &

Harwich Haven Authority

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Archie MacDonald

Archie MacDonald always wanted to go tosea. Born in 1917 in Greenock, Scotland,he was the youngest son of a boat builder.His elder brother John was indentured asan engineer apprentice so unfortunatelywhen Archie became old enough to go,there was not the money to buy anapprenticeship. He was set in his directionof career and so sailed on deck with a viewto progressing to an officer’s position indue course. His first experience at sea wason borad the sailing vessel Sir ThomasLipton in 1933. Having moved throughthe ranks to become a master, he foundhimself involved in the second world war. Iwould like to relate details of his exploitsand experiences during this period butbeing a very private man he rarely talkedof it. This seems to be the norm for somany who found themselves serving in theservices at this time. It is only since hisdeath in February that I have been doingsome research and have found out moreinformation. Until this, the only mentionwas when I was watching the legendary

OBITUARIES


film about the San Demetrio, an Eagle Oiltanker attacked by a surface raider whichhaving being abandoned was later re-boarded and subsequently made her wayback to Scotland. He commented, “I wason the sister ship”. He was off the beacheson D-Day+2 on a tanker which was eitherthe Empire Lundy or Settler, and heremembered that every time the deck gunwas fired the galley filled with soot.

After the war he continued to serve withEagle Oil, a company that looked aftertheir crews well. He continued with themuntil he met his wife to be. He then beganto look for a position ashore, finishing hisseagoing career as Master of the Helmsley1, a coastal tanker.

He became a Trinity House Pilot inBarrow-in-Furness in 1951. At this time itwas a thriving port with a busy iron oreand shipbuilding trade, with VickersArmstrong constructing merchant andwarships. There were ten pilots who alsoserved the port of Heysham across the bay.He continued to work in Barrow andHeysham, becoming the dedicated Vickerspilot, meaning that he attended to all

launches and movements of these ships.Over the years he has stood on many wellknown vessels as they made there firstentry into the water. The British Admiralfor BP, the largest tanker of its type at thetime, submarines such as the Dreadnought,cruise ships and later on HMS Invincible.

As Barrow’s trade slowed, pilots retiredand were not replaced and in the later partof his career there would only be three. Bythis time Pilot MacDonald was also thededicated pilot for British Nuclear Fuels.Following retirement in 1988 he remainedas the dock pilot and continued in this roleuntil 1990. His retirement may not havebeen so well received at the local golf clubwhere he could now spend more time andhe supplemented his pension with regular5p birdies.

Golf remained a large part of his life,and he played until just a year prior to hispassing.

Since his death I have been siftingthrough the large amount of boxedpaperwork that he had kept. All themonthly pilotage returns since the earlysixties until his retirement were stored.

Pictures of ships he had piloted and sailedon and many books on piloting andshipping companies, some of which I havebeen glad to pass on. I even found hissecond world war watch duffel coat. Therewas also, carefully folded up in an oldwallet, a cutting from a Gourocknewspaper. This told of the return ofCaptain Archie MacDonald for a period ofleave having had his ship sunk from underhim, he had never mentioned this toanyone.

Archie MacDonald was a dedicated andwell respected pilot, I worked with himnumerous times as a pilot boat coxswainand captain of small tugs in Barrow whilstI was on leave. I have been approachedseveral times over the years asking if Iwould like to apply for the position of pilotin Barrow. In recognition of his skill,patience and understanding and perhaps tothe relief of many shipmasters, I havedecided to stay at the other end of the towrope, I could not follow in my father’sfootsteps.

Martin MacDonald

To commemorate their 150th Anniversary the Mission to Seafarersheld a cycle rally on 12th May called “Tour pour la Mer”

The event was organised by Mark Stokes of V Ships, TimWilkins, of Intertanko, and Nick Brown of ABS with the aim ofraising funds for the charity. The route was from Greenwich to LeTouquet via Chatham dockyard to make a total distance of 200km. Around 270 cyclists from all sectors of the maritime industryparticipated and pilots were represented by Tees pilot and IMPAPresident Geoff Taylor along with Nick Cutmore and CaronJames from the IMPA head office. Joining them at Greenwich forthe start were also five pilots from the Forth. Both groups leftGreenwich by the “Cutty Sark” at 0900 and although the IMPAteam arrived in Dover at 1700 the Forth pilots rode like the windto reach Dover in a mere 5 hours After crossing the channel byP&O ferry (major sponsors of the event) the pilots were greetedon French soil by Federation Francais des Pilotes Maritimes(FFPM) President, Claude Huaut. After an overnight stop inCalais the teams continued to pedal to Le Touquet where the eventended with a celebratory prize-giving dinner in the evening hostedby the Mayor of Le Touquet where the Forth pilots proudly woretheir kilts. The teams returned home by coach on day 3 followedby a fleet of lorries carrying the bikes and luggage!

The event was considered a great success by the Mission andparticipants and further Tours may be arranged. Watch this space.

At the time of going to press donations had reached an amazing£130,000 with several sponsorships still to be collected. To donateto this worthwhile cause contact: www.missiontoseafarers.org/howtohelp.php?page=Donationsor telephone: 020 7248 5202

Forth Pilots Team IMPA Team

le Touquet

Tour pour la mer