PILOT ERROR?

Once again pilots are being targeted as ship wreckers by influential London P&I club and the following report by Janet Porter (Lloyd’s List Friday July 15 2005) makes for somewhat depressing reading.

LIABILITY insurers are starting to collate data on pilot error after a noticeable rise in the number of maritime accidents that are not the fault of the shipowner. Leading the initiative is the London P&I Club, which has become alarmed at the level of claims

arising from accidents when a ship was under pilotage. Having made great strides in improving maritime safety through initiatives such as the International Safety Management Code, the shipowners’ mutual is now urging regulators to turn their attention to pilots. “We’ve smartened up our act, now the time has come to look at others, and that includes pilots,” said Paul Hinton, chief executive of A Bilbrough & Co which manages the club. The problem is highlighted in the club’s annual report published today, which draws attention to the fact that many accidents occur either during pilotage, or shortly before of after picking up or dropping off a pilot. “This is an area currently being investigated by managers with the aim of providing advice to masters and supplementing bridge procedures,” the report states. The International Group of P&I Clubs is also gathering information about the number and value of claims that involve pilots. Writing in the annual report, Mr Hinton notes that collisions again featured prominently during the 2004/5 year, “despite universal adoption of the ISM Code, advanced navigational equipment, and passive vessel traffic management systems, and a disproportionate number gave rise to examination of the conduct of pilots who were on board at the time.” With the number of cases involving shipowner responsibility falling, and the trend towards accidents resulting from mistakes of thers increasing, the London Club suggests that governments “need now consider extending more widely, or redirecting the cutting edge of, their regulatory activity.” The club points out that shipowner responsibility is usually difficult to avoid, even when the vessel is under the command of a pilot, since pilots are generally protected by statute from liability, “even when, as is usual, they were effectively in control of navigation.”

In my opinion part of this report reveals a certain ignorance of pilots and pilotage but perhaps the enthusiasm with which the London P&I club are seeking “look at others and that includes pilots” may not be such a bad thing. As the UKMPA has learnt, it is frequently the case that the P&I clubs automatically classify any incident that happens in pilotage waters as “pilot error” even though the Master may have had some involvement in the events leading to the incident. As was revealed at the Master/Pilot relationship Seminar in Bristol last year, the P&I Clubs don’t analyse the incidents closely because they pick up the bill regardless of who was actually responsible. The other glaring fact is that ports and their approaches represent the highest risk areas on a vessels voyage and with pressures to cut costs such as tugs, boatmen etc and with ships ever bigger and more difficult to handle it is hardly surprising that port claims are not reducing. Another factor is that the costs involved in repairing damage to a jetty or vessel have escalated way beyond inflation in the last few years. It could well be that closer investigation could reveal that the number of claims has actually reduced but the increased costs of claims have distorted the statistics. We should perhaps welcome this spotlight being placed on pilotage and at least part of the industry is not so condemnatory. One leading insurer is quoted in response as stating “It would be a classic statistical misinterpretation to conclude from the fact that many ship accidents occur when the pilot is on board, that going without a pilot would improve safety.” Geoff Taylor has already established contact with a P&I Club insider and we should perhaps consider getting some of these insurers along on some pilotage passages.

JCB