So far as I can establish, e-navigation was introduced to the world by Dr Sally Basker in 2005 when she was Director of Research & Radionavigation at Trinity House. The concept received a boost when the then Shipping Minister, Dr Steven Ladyman gave it formal UK Government support in 2006. Since then, as documented within these pages, e-navigation has snowballed but where is it heading?

In 2009 e-navigation was formally adopted by the IMO and the Nautical Institute created a specialist department in order to try to ensure that the e-navigation agenda was user led. Fat chance! With the wide remit of  harmonising and integrating on board and shore technologies it was inevitable that e-navigation would become a corporate love-fest and, sure enough, conferences and seminars are taking place at far flung locations with eye watering registration fees that effectively exclude any end-user.

Three e-navigation events have recently taken place with the following cheapest fees:

-November in Seattle, $665.

-January : e-Navigation Underway : on board the Crown of Scandinavia : 670€

-November: ECDIS Revolution : £714

Whilst it’s good to note that the American Pilots are supporters of the Seattle conference it is almost guaranteed that they will be the only serving seafarers at any of these events but the big question is what’s it this achieving anyway?

Ship owners remain unfazed as they launch new ships  with traditional bridges totally unsuitable for e-navigation whilst at IMO, progress has been slowed by more and more groups jumping on the bandwagon and by debates over what the “e” might actually stand for.

As the French would say, “plus ça change, plus c’est la même”!

John Clandillon-Baker:  Editor

john@pilotmag.co.uk

There continue to be changes within the trustee board and at the Association’s last AGM earlier this year  Andy Jones, Finance Manager at Milford Haven and Linda Henry, Group Personnel Manager at Associated British Ports, were appointed as alternate port trustees.

Richard Williamson, a Boston pilot, also retired as a trustee on 30 September (See facing page).  Richard became an alternate trustee in June 1998 and a full trustee in May 2002.  In February 2003 Richard took on the role of Deputy Chairman and became the Fund’s Chairman in February 2006.  Richard had the unenviable task of taking the P.N.P.F. through one of its most difficult periods leading up to the first court hearing.  In February 2009 Richard reverted to the role of Deputy Chairman and continued to contribute a great deal of his time and energy to resolving the issues facing the P.N.P.F.  I know his hard work is very much appreciated by myself and the other trustees. At his last trustee meeting the Chairperson of the trustees, Heather McQuire, presented Richard with a painting of the Liverpool pilot boat no.1  (for those of you who do not know Richard was apprenticed in Liverpool).  Richard is leaving the U.K. for warmer climes and we all wish him well for the next phase of his life in Italy.

Additional Voluntary Contributions

Those members who continue to contribute to the existing A.V.C. scheme should have received their 2010/11 benefit statements from Loretta, if you have not done so please contact Loretta, in writing, requesting a duplicate.

Summary Funding Statement 2011

The 2011 Summary Funding Statement was sent out to all members on 21 September 2011.  It has not changed significantly from the 2010 statement as until the judgement is received from the pending appeal hearing the trustees are unable to finalise the 2007 and 2010 triennial valuations.

Benefit Statements as at 31.12.2011

When you receive your annual benefit statement in 2012 you will see a number of changes in the information it contains.  To reflect the changes in the Annual Allowance (see my letter of 9 December 2010 to all active members) the benefit statement will show the amount of annual allowance used and will include any A.V.C.s you may of paid during the Payment Input Period.  Going forward the “carried forward” of unused allowance for the previous three tax years will also be included.

Tyne’s Appeal Hearing

We have been advised by Hogan Lovells that Tyne’s appeal is due to be heard week commencing 14 November and should last 3 days.  We then have to wait for the judgement to be handed down and given how close Christmas will be then this may not be received until 2012.

Suspended Pensions

This is a plea for information.  We have had to suspend three pensions in payment as we are unable to ascertain the whereabouts of a Mr. J. S. Emberton (ex Manchester pilot), Mr. M. J. Parkin (ex Wisbech pilot) and a Mrs. M. Campbell (an Ipswich widow).  If anyone can give us any information on our three missing members I would very much appreciate it.

Auto-Enrolment

It is less then a year before the biggest pension reforms since the Old Age Act 1908 (another reason for me to retire!) come into force, yet apathetic employers are dragging their feet with only 7% of the larger firms making any plans for auto-enrolment.  Only a quarter of employers have budgeted for the cost of auto-enrolment with larger employers expecting between 12-17% of their employees to opt-out.  Smaller employers expect the opt-out rate to be higher with between 33-39% opting-out.

Early Access to Pensions

It now appears the government will look again at introducing early access to pensions if large numbers of workers opt-out of auto-enrolment due to be introduced in a phased process in October 2012, especially if lack of access is the main reason for the opt-outs.

This plan was shelved in April following yet another government consultation as it was felt it would add to the complexity already facing providers with the introduction of the auto-enrolment regime.

Working Beyond Age 65

A recent study carried out on 1000 employees over the age of 60 revealed 26% intended to work beyond 65 with a third of these wanting to continue working after age 65 to enhance their retirement savings.  The last decade has seen a doubling in the number of people over the age of 60 who are carrying on working and the number is expected to increase as the abolition of the default retirement age of 65 is phased in.

Inflation

A recent survey shows that pensioners fear that inflation and government tinkering with the pensions system will impact their retirement incomes.  To combat inflation respondents to the survey said they would draw on savings, investments and even consider selling their property and downsizing.  I have all this to look forward to!

Well this will be my last article for the Pilot Magazine and I will miss this tenuous contact with my members.  As it is the last quarter in 2011 I don’t think it is too early to wish you all a very good Christmas and a happy and healthy 2012. To celebrate my retirement Tom and I are sailing off into the sunset and taking a cruise up the west coast of South America and finishing in Florida.  At midnight on the 31st of December I will raise my glass to all of you who have been so patient and kind during my time with the P.N.P.F.  As we say where I come from : y’all take care.                Debbie Marten

Retirements

May 2011 to July 2011

P. N. Bush          Falmouth

R. Casson         Lancaster

J. D. Gray         Humber

J. S. MacGregor         Poole

*********

Pensioners Deceased

May 2011 to July 2011

P. W. Brown     London-North

A. F. Esson     Aberdeen

J. M Estill     PLA

D. R. Godfrey     London-South

J. F. Males     London–South

J. G. Mitchell     Clyde

J. Sanderson     PLA

N. Sigley     Manchester

O. Walton     Harwich

-MCA VTS policy Steering Group (Martin Chatterton)

-CHIRP (Peter Lightfoot),

-EU Projects Funding Seminar (Nick Lee [T&TC])

In September I attended the MCA UKSON 90. At the latter meeting it was a pleasure to be thanked by the MCA for our contribution to the Port State Control defect reporting regulations consultation (see article at the end of this report. ed) which will effectively extend existing legislation to include our Deep Sea pilot colleagues. The implications of this are obvious and we have argued for some time that a robust and strictly confidential MCA reporting system is essential to protect the interests of the DSPs.  This we have achieved.

I also attended the launch of Trinity House’s “2025 and beyond” strategy (http://bit.ly/o6w7FL) which will have a direct impact on UK port and coastal pilotage in the years ahead.

We have a busy Autumn schedule ahead covering a number of seminars which have implications for UK pilotage – details of these are available on the UKMPA web site.  We need to have a good presence at these events, as often much is said about pilotage by those who in truth actually know very little about it. Additionally of course there will be the usual round of meetings at the various MCA forums we participate in as well as the EMPA e-navigation group and our own T&TC meetings.

As well as dealing with UKMPA matters, work has been progressing well (lead by John Pearn) on arrangements for the IMPA 2012 conference we are hosting next September (http://www.impa2012.org). As has been explained before, this is very much the UKMPA nationally as hosts and you are all asked to consider putting the dates in your diaries either to come and help with the daily arrangements (contact John) or simply attend what will certainly be a memorable international event. Registration should be live by the time that you read this.  Specific details for UKMPA members to register will be promulgated in due course.

Those of you in the PNPF will be aware that Richard Williamson (Boston) has retired and he was presented with a fine decanter on behalf of all UKMPA members for the huge amount of work he has done during his many years of involvement with the PNPF. (See pages 6&7)

Effective communications is the core of any successful modern organisation and our Association is no exception. Almost all of our contact with members is via email and the UKMPA web site (and of course this journal). We aim to keep the web site as up to date as possible with news items, publication of events, vacancies etc.  As an additional facility a Linkedin group (http://linkd.in/p1q8Zh) has been formed which you are invited to join.

In 1986, Harry Hignett (Manchester) wrote a history of the UK Pilots’ Association, copies of which (although long out of print) are available sometimes via Amazon etc.  I have recently been in contact with Harry (now retired)  and he has agreed (with the sanction of Section committee) to update the book. Covering the period post 1986 to date, it will hopefully be ready for publication by summer 2012.

I recently had the pleasure of accepting an invitation to attend the Nautilus International Conference in Rotterdam. Joe Wilson did a lot of valuable work in forging a relationship with Nautilus and attendance at this conference has confirmed to me that there is mutually much to be gained from the development of the relationship between our two organisations, notwithstanding our position within UNITE. A copy of my report on this conference can be found on the UKMPA web site under “conferences”. Of particular note is the imminent publication on the Dft web site of all UK shipping related legislation under review as part of the UK Government Red Tape Challenge programme and the awarding by Nautilus of the Victoria Drummond award to Rachel, wife of UKMPA member Neil Dunn (Southampton), herself an Admiralty Pilot at Portsmouth (See page 15).

You will all recently have received details of the IMPA bridge manning survey. This is part of a factual statistical data gathering exercise essential to illustrate to regulators and others the true status  of the nature of modern bridge operations.  Please do take the time to complete a form for every pilotage act you undertake until the end of November. Ultimately it is for all our benefits, individually and collectively. Details are available in Circular 14/2011, on the UKMPA and IMPA web sites.

Finally, as the nights draw in and the weather begins to deteriorate, stay safe!

*******

The UKMPA Submission To The MCA Defect Reporting Consultation

- A truly confidential and anonymous reporting process – by SMS and email – needs to be established. This in order to protect the identity of the reporting pilot from the client. In the event that the pilot’s client was to discover that it was the Deep Sea Pilot who had reported a defect which resulted in a Port State Control inspection and subsequent action against the ship, then it is probable that the Deep Sea Pilot’s  services would never be re-contracted.

MCA response: The MCA recognises that an unintended consequence of extending the reporting obligations to Deep Sea Pilots, whose use is voluntary, is the risk that it could prejudice use of their services and as a result safety of navigation. In practice, MCA will treat pilot reports with a similar regard for confidentiality as given to crew complaints, although this is not a legal requirement under Article 23 or under the regulations (since they follow the Directive). The MSN section 15 sets out means of reporting, including direct MCA email addresses. It also advises that prompt notification is more important than format. For the future, the European Commission may issue a Regulation setting out how reports should be made, but at present this is still under negotiation.

Nautilus Chairman, Ulrich Jurgens, congratulates Admiralty pilot, Rachel Dunn, on her receipt of the Victoria Drummond award.

Photo: Nautilus

Rachel Dunn, wife of Southampton pilot, Neil Dunn, received the Nautilus  Victoria Drummond Award presented by Sir Alan Massey at the 1st Nautilus International Conference.

Rachel is the only female Admiralty Pilot. Having first gone to sea as a Cadet with Shell Tankers in 1984 she obtained her Masters Certificate in 1993. Shortly after that she left Shell and joined Wightlink as Chief Officer. In 1997 she was promoted to Master, a post that she held for eleven years before leaving to become a Trainee Admiralty Pilot in Portsmouth last year. Rachel has now qualified as a Pilot after twelve months in training and next April she will be a fully qualified as an Unrestricted Admiralty Pilot ready for the aircraft carriers.

The award is named after one of Queen Victoria’s goddaughters, Victoria Drummond, who abandoned a privileged lifestyle as a debutante to become the first female marine engineer in the Merchant Navy where she served for over forty years. During World War Two she was Second Engineer aboard the SS Bonita, when it came under attack from a German bomber. Having instructed the others to abandon the engine room she single handed not only  kept the engine running throughout the heavy bombardment but also managed to get the ship’s speed up to 12.5 kts, the fastest ever recorded in the ship’s 18 year life!  For this act of bravery she was honoured with an MBE and was awarded the Lloyd’s War Medal .

As Rachel says, ‘It was difficult enough for me when I first went to sea so I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for her. She was an amazing woman with an amazing history.”

One factor of these scandals, which hasn’t been explored by the mainstream media, is how totally vulnerable phone and computer systems are to hacking and how fragile the technological infrastructure underpinning our daily existence is. This quarter’s feature examines the effects of  GPS failure on ECDIS which confirms the need for an independent back-up system.

E- Loran is a system which, by building on existing proven technology, can provide a cheap and effective back-up system. To their credit the UK Government have committed resources to e-LORAN and  the UK’s General Lighthouse Authorities (GLA’s) have been at the forefront of perfecting the technology. The EU are also supporting e-LOLAN and there is now good coverage around the coasts of Europe and in the Mediterranean. Russia and parts of the Far East also have some coverage. However, the USA have decided against supporting it and during the last couple of years have shut down their LORAN stations and are dismantling them to save $20m per year! Without the US, comprehensive world coverage will be unachievable so e-LORAN faces an uncertain future.

The USA’s solution? A smart phone “app” that citizens will be required to download and keep running which will pinpoint any GPS jammers and automatically send the information to the authorities. Such an “app” can’t provide position back-up in the affected area and could easily be confused by multiple mobile jamming units. And, don’t smart phones themselves rely on GPS?

JCB : john@pilotmag.co.uk

It was a pleasure to meet many of you at this year’s one day conference on board HQS Wellington in May.

Since my last report there have been a number of pilotage related legal developments in various parts of the country. In Scotland, a landmark ruling in an appeal against a Judicial Revue finding has resulted in significantly greater professional authorisation security for all UK pilots. Another action on the Humber – whilst brought about by UNITE on behalf of a (non UKMPA) member pilot has resulted in confirmation of the application of the Work Time Regulations to pilots although I understand that the port authority may appeal. Unfortunately elsewhere, a complex three way action continues with only partial conclusion and no identifiable “winner”. It is worth reiterating that in the first and last cases, the defence of the members’ positions was only possible due to the protection afforded by our insurance policy.

Membership of our Association continues to increase slowly. Mike Robarts is actively pursuing non-members in various ports around the country, explaining the benefits of UKMPA membership. If you know of colleagues who are not yet members then Mike will be pleased to furnish you with the necessary information to pass on to them.

You will recall a few years ago the consultation on Draft Marine Navigation Bill and the associated Transport Select Committee hearing. We have  had several meetings with the Dft, post consultation, mainly discussing the unacceptable proposals contained within the Bill for the deregulation of PECs. The Bill then gathered dust on a shelf somewhere in Portcullis House. Recently, our president Lord Tony Berkeley, identified an opportunity to revive elements of the bill via the Marine Navigational Aids Bill currently en-route through parliament. Various stakeholders  were approached including the Dft and UKMPA to determine what sections of the original Bill should be included in this latest endeavour. There was much support for the goal of this action and it is pleasing to report that the bill has now been published within the House of Lords http://bit.ly/ppgzdX. However, it has been made clear from one of the ports’ associations that their ultimate aim is for the management of pilotage to be fully returned to respective port management without the intervention of the Pilotage Act. This may commence with an attempt to have elements of the Pilotage Act repealed, in particular those relating to PECs and associated pilotage management issues. We are keeping a close watch on this proposal which cannot be in the public interest nor to the benefit of navigational safety, the protection of the environment in our port areas or the commercial efficiency of trade.

We have been actively participating in both the recent Coastguard Review consultation and the proposed withdrawal of the Emergency Towage Vessels ETVs.  For the latter my thanks to Matthew Hill of the Clyde who attended a meeting there on our behalf. As I said at conference, it is our intention where appropriate to invite local members to attend meetings and events thus making significant savings on transport and accommodation costs.

Other meetings that I and Section Committee members have attended include:

The IMO navigational Safety Committee 57th meeting Three members (Martin James, Mike Morris and John Pearn) attended in order to offer guidance to the UK delegation and to support IMPA in responding to a somewhat naive paper submitted by the Bahamas delegation on pilotage practices.

Graham Langley, attended the 13th PMSC Steering group (on behalf of Martin James).

Peter Wylie, Mike Morris and I attended the EMPA GM in Amsterdam where Kevin Vallance and Gareth Rees gave excellent presentations on ECDIS and the AZIPILOT project. Peter stood down from the EMPA board but unfortunately Mikes endeavours to be voted on as replacement were unsuccessful. We will though retain our active involvement in the EMPA e-navigation committee with Kevin being assisted by Mike.

I recently met with the Unite Assistant General Secretary (transport), Diana Holland and Julian Long (Docks and Waterways National Officer) to discuss a number of items including the (mutually agreed) unacceptable current situation with the UKMPA office in Transport House and more importantly, the UKMPA rules. Following the merger of Amicus and the T&GWU, the Unite executive have been undertaking a comprehensive review of the Unite rule book and those of member associations. There will be more news on this in the months to come.

I also met recently with Nautilus’ Mark Dickinson (General Secretary) and Allan Graveson (Senior National Secretary). This was essentially the continuing maintenance of a good relationship our two organisations have enjoyed for many years. A number of items of mutual interest and concern were discussed.

Working with tugs is an integral part of pilotage and I was pleased to be asked by the British Tug Owners Association to address the BTA conference earlier this year on Pilot / Tug skipper relationships and aspects of operations including PECs and tugs. It was very well received and the BTA are keen to develop relationships with the UKMPA.

Last but not least, it would be remiss not to thank Nigel Allen and his colleagues for all the work they put into the joint venture, tremendously successful PPU/ECDIS seminar in May.

You can see from the above that your representatives are very active in a wide range of areas within the UK, European and International pilotage domain. Our Association was formed in 1884 with the objective “to influence the development of Pilotage and Associated Regulations, including Acts of Parliament and to help those members around the country who found themselves in difficulty”. Whilst our appearance may have changed, the objectives remain the same.

Wishing you smooth waters and safe transits.

Don Cockrill

Minutes of the conference proceedings are available on the UKMPA web site.

The Secretariat

Trustees

There has been a change to the Deputy Chairman of the P.N.P.F. since my last article.  On 2 June 2011 the Association appointed Bill Bean, PLA Pensions Manager, Deputy Chairman of the P.N.P.F.  I have also heard, but not been advised in writing, that at the Association’s AGM held on 5 July 2011 two new alternate trustees were appointed.  They are Andy Jones from Milford Haven and Caroline Marrison-Gill from Peel Ports.

Association alternate trustees do not always last long so watch this space.  One that did was Richard Pugh, Finance Director at Milford Haven, and I am very sorry to say that at the AGM mentioned above, he resigned as an alternate trustee as he will be retiring from Milford Haven later in the year.

Expression of Wish Forms

It has been a while since I mentioned Expression of Wish forms, but if your personal circumstances have changed you may wish to change the beneficiary on your Expression of Wish form.  If you do require a new form just contact the Secretariat and we will get one off to you.

2010 Valuation

The actuaries are currently carrying out the 2010 triennial valuation of the P.N.P.F. and it is hoped that once the legal proceedings finally finish that both the 2007 and the 2010 valuation can be finalised and signed off by the trustees and a recovery plan put in place.

Legal Proceedings

Members should be receiving a letter from the Chairman about the current position of the legal proceedings.  I can say that we now have an appeals hearing date which is the week commencing 14 November 2011.

Flat-rate Pensions

The government believe that their plans for reform for the state pension will make it fairer for the self-employed, women and low earners.  The reforms should reduce complexity and the need to rely on means-tested benefits.  A simpler state pension should lift millions out of poverty without hitting the taxpayer’s pocket.  Recent research by the Pensions Policy Institute predicts nearly 7 million pensioners will be an average of £23 per week better off by 2034.

Retirement Planning

A recent report indicates that half of workers over 30 are failing to save adequately for retirement and a fifth are not saving anything.  There appears to be a disconnect between the desire to be secure in retirement and implementing an achievable financial plan.  The level of people failing to put enough money away for later life has been broadly unchanged over the last five years.

Research indicates the average income people wanted for a comfortable retirement was £24,300, but at current saving rates this is unattainable.  An additional £58 per month would be sufficient to provide most people with an adequate income.

Care-focused Annuities

The Dilnot report published on 4 July 2011 called for a change in legislation to allow pension payments to vary according to people’s care needs.  The paper suggests a change from fixed annuities so that retirees can chose a smaller initial payment which could then be increased to pay for care when certain “pre-defined” needs arise.  This is an opportunity for Insurance companies to designed new products to fit a niche market.  One possible new product could be an ‘immediate needs’ type of annuity to cover the cost of care when it arises.

Find a Fisherman

Aviva has committed £500,000 to its Find a Fisherman campaign.  The company is trying to track down fishermen who are owed money from five poorly administered pension schemes before it closes the schemes for good in 12 months time.  The schemes were set up in the 1960s, but many members left during the cut back on fleets in the 1970s.  Aviva have found 5350 members but a further 6000 remain unfound.  Any surplus funds will be distributed among the identified scheme members.

DWP Bereavement Service

The Department of Work and Pensions has introduced a new streamline service that will allow bereaved relatives to check their eligibility for financial help with funeral costs and other benefits with just one phone call. Later in 2011 they hope to expand the service to cover several government agencies and departments so that notification of death need only be done once for tax affairs, passports and driving licences. The main number to call is:

0845-606-0265.

Debbie Marten :

UKMPA attendees: Don Cockrill,  Peter Wylie, Mike Morris,   KevinValance, Gareth Rees

Venue: WESTERKIRK

EMPA President: Jacques Saubon welcomed 80 delegates from 22 countries.

Key Topics

-EU Ports Review. This is yet a further reincarnation of the previously rejected Ports Directive under a different guise.

-PLA pilot’s ladder accident

-EU convention on port state control which details obligations on observed anomaly reports.

-E-maritime initiative

-EU PEC study.

-European Nautical Platform Partnership of which EMPA is a member.

-International Standard for Pilotage Organisations (ISPO): There are strong differences of opinion between the IMPA position and some EMPA member countries on ISPO. Whilst some have embraced ISPO others have integrated the principles into existing ISO standards to include pilotage. IMPA president Mike Watson detailed IMPA’s concerns regarding the potential adverse effect of ISPO on pilotage world-wide.

-Pilot Ladder Survey: Peter Wylie provided a detailed analysis.

-ECDIS: Kevin Valance gave a well received presentation on ECDIS issues

-AZIPILOT: Gareth Rees gave another fascinating presentation updating delegates on the latest developments of this project.

-Competition in Pilotage: The Danish, Finnish and Romanian delegations explained the problems each is having to deal with. The Romanian situation is described as being “unable to deteriorate further”! (On Day 2 a senior representative from the International Group of P&I clubs (IGPI)  stated that there is good evidence to suggest a direct link between increased accidents and competition in pilotage. He cited Argentina as a good example).

Day 2

This was a half day session with the church re-seated in amphitheater style. A panel of port users comprising a (UK) ship manager, the IGPI clubs representative mentioned above, A VOPAK agent, A ship owner, a Stolt Nielsen Operations Manager and a ShipMaster representing the Confederation of European Shipmasters’ Associations (CESMA).

The session was moderated by a Dutch TV chat show host and delegates were equipped with an instant electronic yes/no voting system. Through the morning, a series of questions on aspects of pilotage were posed and answered by the delegates. The results were then discussed with, sometimes controversial input from panel members.

There is apparently significant funding available from EU sources for professional training which of course includes pilots. I am researching more detail on this.

Day 3

The day started with the Council of Presidents meeting.  Outcomes were:

-Agreement on the proposed new EMPA charter

-A research study into the future of EMPA :

-Relocation to Brussels?

-Employ a Full time Secretary General?

-Election procedures.

The previous day’s “Round Forum” session and its effectiveness was analysed. Was it a successful session? – for some yes but for others (including some of this report’s authors) there are doubts over the full effectiveness with such a multi-cultural, multi-lingual audience. Some of the questions had been ambiguous and could possibly be interpreted as being weighted against existing pilotage practice.

Further sessions included the following:

-An EU study into pilotage due to be completed next year.

-European Maritime day

-The European Maritime Industries Forum

-The European Nautical platform

-The Horizon Project

-Pilots and Vessel Traffic Management (VTM): This was perhaps the most “interesting” of the sessions in that it was very Netherlands centric and consisted of a number of presentations from various Dutch port technical managers and pilots on various aspects of VTM. The end result was a clear understanding that the Dutch perspective appears to put the commercial “customer” above all else. MATCH is the new acronym for VTM and is concerned with the total integration of various aspects of port operations, including pilotage, and Rotterdam in particular firmly believes in this concept and will continue with it.

-E-navigation See Kevin Vallance’s report on page 9)

The afternoon closed session included the Financial Report, following which a subscription increase was approved.

-Board Elections: Unfortunately, Mike Morris’s application was unsuccessful.

A presentation on the deplorable situation in Romania requesting EMPA support in the form of a formal letter to the Romanian Authorities was agreed.

The 2012 AGM is to be held in Antwerp. Dates to be confirmed.

Don Cockrill

Rotterdam pilot Paul Borsbroom took these photographs whilst piloting the  NAFTOBULK VII into the Heuvelman facilities in Gravendeel assisted by the tugs SIRIUS and EN AVANT 4. Now, where did the book say the pivot point should be?

Sometime prior to the establishment of the UKPA, in fact around 140 AD, a member of the Roman army of occupation army died near York. He was recorded as being an Ouse/Humber/Trent pilot. His headstone is in the York Museum and has the following inscription as follows:

Matribus Afris Italis Gallis Marcus Minucius Audens miles legionis VI Victricfs gubernator VI uofum solfut laetuslibens merffo. Translated:

To the African, Italian and Gallic Mother Goddesses Marcus Minucius Audens, soldier of the Sixth Legions Vitrix and a pilot of the Sixth Legion, Willingly, gladly and deservedly fulfilled his vow

Submitted by Harry Hignett

(Retired: Manchester)