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THE UNITED KINGDOM MARITIME PILOTS’ ASSOCIATION (UKMPA)

The U.K.P.A. was founded in Bristol by Commander George Cawley in 1884. Pilots from 18 Districts attended its Inaugural Conference, its objective was 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 .

The U.K.P.A. was involved with the development of all the Pilotage Acts from 1889 to 1987 and the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894. Other examples of matters addressed by the U.K.P.A. include a resolution at the 1934 Conference “that a Pilots’ Benefit Fund be established in every port”.

In 1942 the pilots from 5 Districts decided to leave the U.K.P.A. and joined the T&G, forming the Marine Pilots’ Branch (M.P.B.)

In 1963 the U.K.P.A. participated in the discussions which led to the formation of the European Maritime Pilots Association (E.M.P.A.), formally joining the new organisation in 1964.

In 1985 the U.K.P.A. was faced with several problems, not least that (shared with the M.P.B.) of impending radical legislation and the UKPA and MPB joined forces to become the U.K.P.A.(M), a section of the Transport & General Workers’ Union.

In  2000,  Conference voted to rename the Association the United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’ Association (UKMPA). The UKMPA retains the same day to day autonomy as had been the case with the two previous organisations, but under the umbrella of the T&G rules.

The UKMPA has its own office in Transport House, London and a full-time Union Officer, currently Mr. G. Stevenson, is the UKMPA National Secretary. The UKMPA holds an annual delegate conference where all Districts can be represented. There is a national Section Committee consisting of a Chairman, Vice-chairman, and six members (all are serving pilots), one of whom is elected as Treasurer/Secretary. Section Committee elections are held annually. The UKMPA Technical & Training Sub-Committee is a sub-committee of the UKMPA Section Committee and deals with all aspects of pilotage, e.g. Protective Clothing, Boarding/Landing equipment, Health & Safety and training etc. There is regular communication, via circulars, between the Section Committee and each Pilotage District’s locally elected District Secretary. The District Secretary is responsible for the dissemination of information to members. The Pilot magazine is published quarterly and is the official record of the UKMPA. After more than 100 years of looking after the interests of Marine Pilots, the UKMPA, which represents 98% of U.K. pilots, looks forward with confidence to the next 100 years.

Current President: Lord Tony Berkeley Curent Chairman: Joe Wilson (Tees pilot)

The UKMPA is affiliated to the:

European Maritime Pilots’ Assiation (EMPA)

International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA)

To visit the websites please click on the logos on the top right of this page

The U.K.M.P.A. is also affiliated to the I.T.F. (International Transport Workers’ Federation, Seafarers Section) www.itfglobal.org/index.cfm with access to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) where matters such as VTS, standards of ship manoeuvrability, electronic charting, passenger ship safety, etc., are discussed at an international level.

The Editor

JOHN CLANDILLON-BAKER FNI

I am a Master Mariner and started my career as a deck cadet with Ellerman Lines in 1969. Having obtained my Master’s Class 1 certificate in 1981 I left Ellerman City Liners to work in Nigeria for Ocean Inchcape (Nigeria) Ltd as supply vessel / tug master. In 1983, still with OIL (Nigeria) I became a pilot/ loading Master at the Bonny offshore oil terminal, handling VLCC’s at the Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) facility off the Nigerian coast. In 1987 I returned to the UK and worked ashore for an import and distribution company and during this time also skippered the owner’s yacht. In 1989 I became a Pilot with the Port of London Authority where I am still employed full time as a Class 1 senior pilot, handling all classes of vessel from VLCC’s to small coasters in the Thames Estuary and the river berths to seaward of Crayford Ness. I have been the volunteer editor of the magazine since 1996. The magazine is published quarterly.

The articles and features have all either been written by me or by volunteer contributors. Whilst they are made freely available for genuine research please contact me for permission if you wish to reproduce any of the articles or parts of articles in a journal or research paper. I normally just require an acknowledgement credit to the author and the magazine.

A career in pilotage

Who or what is a pilot?
The following definition was established by the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 which states that:
“Pilot means any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof.”

What does a pilot do?
Basically the pilot is a seafarer who has detailed knowledge of a port approach or dangerous navigational area and who uses that knowledge to ensure the safe passage of a vessel through the pilotage district.

What is the difference between a Captain and a pilot?
The Captain (Master) always has command of the ship and thus has ultimate responsibility for the safety of the ship, its cargo and crew. The pilot has the conduct of the ship in the pilotage district and upon boarding a vessel provides a passage plan for the transit and directs the course and speed of the vessel to execute the passage plan.

Locations:
These are worldwide and the majority of pilots work within a specific port. There are however non-specific port areas where pilots work offshore. These areas tend to be either of environmental importance, (Great Barrier Reef) or areas of high navigational dangers (English Channel and North Sea) and are voluntary rather than compulsory areas.

Types of employment
Every port is responsible for deciding which ships are to be subject to compulsory pilotage. Pilots fall into several categories but the following represent the main groups:
· Directly employed by the port
· Self employed and contracted to provide the pilotage service to a port
· State employees.

Labour profile & Qualifications
Pilots are generally professional seafarers who have served on ships in the capacity as a deck officer. The majority of pilots serving the major ports of the world hold a deep sea Master’s qualification and have served as Captain on a merchant ship. There are exceptions to this with some districts recruiting and training pilots from the local community. An example of this is the USA where in many major ports pilotage is a family business. In the smaller ports pilots will often be recruited from those familiar with the local waters, and in many such ports it is not unusual for the pilot also to be the harbour master. Reflecting this it can be said that entry qualifications for pilots will range from a general maritime qualification to a full Master’s certificate. It is probable that an international standard for pilots and a specific pilotage qualification will be introduced in the next few years which will establish a structured career path into pilotage.

Employment prospects
Excellent! In most countries the majority of pilots will be retiring in the next 15 years or so. There is currently a world shortage of qualified junior officers and this will inevitably lead to a serious shortage of pilots in the next 10 years. Salaries obviously vary enormously but as a general guide the salary is equivalent to the sea going salary obtainable with the qualification held.

Outline of a pilot’s duties
The pilot’s main role is handling ships on and off the port wharfs and facilities and ensuring the safe transit of shipping in and out of port during what is recognised as the high risk element of a ship’s passage. The priority is the safety of the ship, the environment and the port facilities. Ship handling is obviously the prime skill required of a pilot but a competent pilot also needs to be able to monitor all the elements which may affect the passage and to adapt the passage plan accordingly. A high professional attitude is required in order to gain the confidence of the Master and to integrate into the ships bridge team. The responsibilities involved in handling vessels, sometimes with high risk cargoes or poor manoeuvrability and perhaps communications difficulties, in environmentally sensitive areas can induce high stress levels and the ability to keep a clear head and remain calm in moments of high tension is a desirable quality!
Pilotage is a 24-hour operation all year round and pilots normally work on rostered shifts. Since ships arrive off ports in a random manner the workload can lead to irregular sleep patterns although most seafarers used to on board watch-keeping will have no problem adapting to this.

Training
Again this varies widely and is dependent upon the size and complexity of the district. In the major ports training lasts from 4 - 6 months and is generally practical with trainees accompanying qualified pilots on all the different classes of ships using the port. On completion of this initial training the candidate will be examined and granted an “Authorisation” or “Licence” to pilot. The new pilot will normally be restricted to small vessels and will progress to the largest ships over a period of around four years with annual assessments between grades.

The future?
Enhanced navigation systems capable of interacting with a port’s VTS will probably result in the reduction of the number of vessels subject to compulsory pilotage in port approaches. However, I personally feel that due to the complexities involved in ship manoeuvring and close quarters interaction with other shipping in confined port areas, pilots will remain a cost effective addition to the bridge team of a ship for the foreseeable future.

Further information:

United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’ Association (UKMPA): www.ukmpa.org
International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA): www.impahq.org
European Maritime Pilots’ Association (EMPA): www.empa-pilots.org

PORTS: www.iaphworldports.org
VTS: www.worldvtsguide.org

April 2008 (293)

Contents

• Squat 2 Mud Navigation & Negative Under Keel Clearance
• Squat update: What Squat?
• Retirements: John Marshal & Alan Purvis. End of an era on the Tyne
• To be a pilot: Career or Destiny. The story of a pilot family by David Raddings (ex HPL)
• Civil & Criminal Liabilities in Pilotage
• The Bridge Teram: Master /Pilot relationship
• Obituaries : Daniel McMillan, Anthony Thurgood
• Letter: Squat Feedback

January 2008 (292)

Contents

• Squat Part 1
• Mysteries of Pilotage by Barrie Youde
• Is This Bridge Fit For Purpose?
• Pilot Gigs update
• Belfast Pilots. Letter ref self employment
• Obituary: Eric Wray
• Meester Pilot, Where are you again? Another grounding (Maersk Diadema)  off a port approach
• Retired Liverpool pilot, Dave Devey reveives the MN medal
• Dyneema: a new mooring rope

October 2007 (291)

Contents

• The Pilot gigs of Cornwall & The Scilly Isles
• Retirement: Ralph Bird, gig builder
• New pilot cutter design. The french “ORC”
• Obituary: Colin Vine
• Status of a Pilot
• Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (PIANC)

July 2007 (290)

Contents

• Crimson Mars Grounding
• GMDSS revalidation for UK pilots
• Criminalisation of Mariners (including pilots)
• Employment v Self employment of UK Pilots
• Sunk VTS suspended!
• Sailing on Logos 2 :  Chris Hughes (Europilots)
• Future of UKMPA? The Responses
• Obituaries: Bruce Fulton, gerald smith,
• HMS Worcester
• Brief History of HQS Wellington (IMPA HQ)

April 2007 (289)

Contents

• Maritime Lady, Sunny Blossom, Arctic Ocean: Report into Collision off Brunsbuttel
• New Technology Radar: Kelvin Hughes’ “Sharpeye”.
• UKMPA : The Future? by Avald Wymark (Bristol)
• Obituaries: Alec Rollinson, John simpson, Len Sidgwick, Geoffrey Harrison, John Temple
• Retired Pilots meet up in Tampa, David Ingham (ex Trinity House Harwich), Robert Holden (ex Panama Canal), Donald Mercereau (ex Sandy Hook / New York)

January 2007 (288)

cONTENTS

• 119th UKMPA conference
• Retirement: Paul Haysom, Section committee member & Great Yarmouth pilot
• Piloting the Emma Maersk. Harwich haven pilot Andy Adams
• Belfast Self Employment
• Retirement: Dave Devey, Section committee member & Liverpool pilot
• Pilots wanted in Paris!

October 2006 (287)

Contents

• World Maritime Day 2006. pilots set the initiative
• E-navigation
• Y-tronic bluetooth AIS on test
• Maritime Navigation and Information Services (MarNIS)
• Book Review: Sea of Glory by Nathaniel Philbrick
• MV Karen Danielson : Collision with the Great Belt Bridge report
• Obituaries: John Oates, Michael Warren, Joseph Webber, Michael Field,

July 2006 (286)

Contents

• Automatic Mooring Systems
• Meester Pilot Where Are You? The grounding of the APL Panama
• Obituary Feature: Alfred Venn, The Last of the Bristol Channel Sailing Pilots
• Obituaries: Jeffrey Spall, Archie MacDonald,

April 2006 (285)

Contents

• AIS Update
• MV Stolt Aspiration / Tug Thorngarth Collision findings
• Mooring Bitts for Towage
• Obituary: John (Iain) Cambell Peterson
• Book Review: Bow Tug Operations with ASD Tugs by Henk Hensen

January 2006 (284)

Contents

• 118th Conference 2005
• Obituaries: Jim Callaghan (2), R F Youde, John (Mike) Leney,
• DVD Review: the BGreat Port of Bristol by Snowbow productions
• Nelson Funeral Reinactment

October 2005 (283)

Contents

• MV Stolt Tern grounding
• Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally 2005
• Gloucester pilot and cartoonist, George Woolard, retires
• Obituaries: Peter Byers, Mike Young, James Anderson
• Compulsory pilotage in the PSSA of Torres Straits
• Portable Pilotage Units (PPU)
• Book Review: Four Times a Scapegoat by Douglas Harvey
• Pilot Error?

July 2005 (282)

Contents

• Watchkeeper fatigue
• Pilotage Laws 1888: Commander Cawley
• MV Rocknes update
• Book Review: Cairn Line of Steamships 1876 - 2005 by Gilbert T Wallace
• Obituaries: Hein Mehrkens, Donald MacArthur, Ray Hooker, Clifford Lea, John Yarrow, Jim Callaghan,

April 2005 (281)

Contents:

• Martin Lee: The Last “Grand Mat” of the Amicale Internationale des Captianes au Long-Cours Cap Horniers (AICH)
• MV Karen Danielsen: VTS failure?
• AICH UK branch history: Martin Lee
• MV Fortius: Accident report
• Book Review: Mariner’s Launch by Ray Solley
• Obituary: James (Jim) Callaghan,

January 2005 (280)

Contents

• 117th UKMPA conference
• 11 days adrift in an open lifeboat: True story by Neil MacNeil
• EU Education Certification Training & Standards (ECTS) for Maritime Pilots project
• Obituaries: Gianfranco Gasperini, Joseph Duhig, Neil MacNeil

October 2004 (279)

Contents

• Pilotage History: Part 2
• MV Rockness Capsize
• IMO Resolution A960
• Master / Pilot Relationship: MV Astor
• Tide program review: Neptune Tide
• Liverpool Pilotage: WW2 update
• Obituaries: Donald Twells, John Halton,

July 2004 (278)

Contents

• Pilotage History Part 1
• TotalTide tidal program review
• London Pilots Pilot “Concorde”
• Liverpool Pilotage during World War 2
• Obituaries: Gerard Couch, Leslie Finch, Peter Holbrook,
• Liverpool Pilot Cutter: Charles Livingston erratum & update

April 2004 (277)

Contents

• Integrated Bridge Systems
• AIS & VTS
• Immersion & Hypothermia
• Book Review: Marine Pilot by John Foot
• Loss of the Liverpool Pilot Cutter : Charles Livingston
• Obituaries: Eric Jones, John Burgess MBE, Peter Johnson, Michael Belsey, Frederick Tapping

January-2004 (276)

Contents:

• 116th Conference 2003: Liverpool
• A visit to Poland
• PLA Bridge simulator
• AIS Update
• Liverpool veterans honoured & Battle of the Atalntic
• Obituaries: Eric Jones & John Stuart Burgess

October 2003 (275)

Contents:

• Piloting the FPSO “Bonga” on the Tyne
• Nature of Pilotage: Michael Grey, Lloyd’s List
• Incident reports: Jody Millennium & Tai Ping
• High Lift Rudder: Becker or Lumley?
• Obituaries: D. Mackenzie, T A Hood
• Video Review: Snowbow’s “Great Liners” Vol 21: Ships to New Zealand

WEATHER

Met Office Shipping Forecast www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/marine/shipping_forecast.html

NOAA UK Buoy Wind Data: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/maps/United_Kingdom.shtml

Synoptic Charts (Plus everything else you may need!): www.itadvice.co.uk/weatherjack/wx.htm

UK Live Wind Data & predictions: www.xcweather.co.uk/

REGULATORY BODIES

MCA: The UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency: www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-home

Department for Transport (DfT): www.dft.gov.uk/

MAIB: The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch: www.maib.dft.gov.uk/home/index.cfm

IMO: www.imo.org/home.asp

UKHydrographic Office: www.ukho.gov.uk/

IALA: www.iala-aism.org/

NAVIGATION ETC

Roayal Institute of navigation : www.rin.org.uk/

VTS: www.worldvtsguide.org/

VTS Information: www.maritime-vts.co.uk

GENERAL INTEREST

Maritime Blog

An interesting and informative daily blog with news from around the world: gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/

Marine Link

A US site but updated daily with World Maritime news: www.marinelink.com/main/main.asp

Maritime Log

Contains maritime history bulletin board, blogs, articles but also up to date maritime press cuttings are uploaded on this site. A very useful searchable archive facility. post.queensu.ca/cgi-bin/listserv/wa

Tugs at war

DVD containing rare footage and interviews of tugs and crews and their vital but largely ignored role in WW2. Review coming soon: www.maydaytugsofwar.com/trailers/purchase.html

Welcome to THE PILOT, the magazine of the United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’ Association (UKMPA) www.ukmpa.org

his home page contains press cuttings updated whenever I get time. I normally change the photo when I update the site content. Specific topics may be found using the search box at the top of this page.

Please Note: All the content is made freely available for research purposes but if you wish to use any content in another publication please contact me for permission from the author.

The opinions expressed in the content are those of the authors and are not necessarily those endorsed by the UKMPA

Finally it should, in particular, be noted that the analysis of incidents and investigations are my own personal interpretation and reference should always be made to the original reports via the embedded links.

John Clandillon-Baker FNI: Editor alias (JCB)

The summer’s day! photo JCB

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11/08/08  The July issue of the magazine has now been delivered to members. The content will be uploaded onto this site early in September.

PILOTS’ CHAT -BULLETIN BOARD?

I have received an inquiry from a retired pilot seeking to correspond on-line with other pilots. I am not aware of any pilot specific chat room but if any of you are aware of any such a group please let me know and I will place a link to it through this site.

Thanks JCB

***********

BBC RADIO 4 PROGRAMME ON PILOTS

www.impahq.org/

ARTICLE ON PILOTS IN THE TIMES NEWSPAPER

women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article3122236.ece

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A difficult berth

Michael Grey: Lloyd’s List

Monday 11 August 2008

THE thorny issue of berth-to-berth passage plans has arisen once again, as the various charges relating to the “allision” of the Cosco Busan have been revealed.

There is still controversy about their format, their applicability, with professional pilots, who handle ships in the close confines of ports, and ship managers and operators disagreeing on the principle of passage plans being completed right on and off the berth.

Pilots, for their part, point to the dynamics of their business, the likelihood of constant amendment as the tide kicks in earlier than expected, the traffic situation and all the uncertainties that cannot be avoided as a ship is handled in a harbour. Goodness, how often is it a fact that the arriving ship does not actually know the berth for which it is destined until the pilot imparts this essential information after boarding?

On the other side of the fence, managers seem to urge masters to undertake what amounts to an act of self-pilotage, with courses, alter course positions, wheel-overs and the like, which are likely to become academic in the heat of the moment, in a busy port and its channels.

Perhaps there are some simple harbours which can see berth-to-berth passage plans being adhered to, but these must surely be in a minority.

Surely a sensible compromise measure, as the vessel’s course and speed varies “to master’s orders and pilot’s advice”, is to ensure that the chart into the port shows all hazards and shoal waters, limitations of draught and so on clearly, and perhaps an “optimum” course laid along the approach channel.

But to expect a pilot, with his local knowledge, to stick to this course assiduously, would be nonsense on stilts. More important is to have good communication between pilot and bridge team, with the pilot and bridge team working as one. Which needs the pilot to explain clearly his intentions, what the master’s requirements are, and any variations.

Why is communication — and I write as one whose business it is — so darned difficult?

Drafting Britain’s marine future

Nicholas Finney: Lloyd’s List Friday 8 August 2008

THE long-awaited Marine Bill reached another important landmark in its journey towards Parliament when the Joint Committee, established to scrutinise the draft Bill, reported at the end of July.

A week earlier the Select Committee covering Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also reported on the draft Bill, confining its enquiry to the late addition to the draft of proposals to grant coastal access rights to everyone.

So where do these committee reports leave us in terms of the expected impact of the Bill on the maritime industry? Well not perhaps as far as Ministers and officials would have liked, although they will put a brave face on it all.

It is important to say that no-one could have done more than Defra Ministers and officials to handle the earlier consultation seriously and inclusively. And yet, despite the obvious support for the measures in the Bill from both committees, there is a certain ‘tetchiness’ and unease that characterises both committee reports.

Clearly, the Joint Committee in particular struggled to identify enough clear cut objectives and measurements. It wanted greater clarity in a number of areas, not least so that those struggling to conform to the requirements of the Bill could be clear about their duties and obligations. It also wanted greater clarity about the functions, duties and objectives of those parties tasked with implementing the requirements in the Bill.

There is a telling passage in the report that illustrates the Joint Committee’s concerns (which are repeated again on several other issues).

“Without designation of specific regulatory functions on the face of the Bill, proper scrutiny of the ability of the Marine Management Organisation to meet its responsibilities will not be possible, either by Parliament when the Bill is introduced, or by the public. We think this will undermine the Government’s intention that the MMO should be an open and transparent organisation which commands public confidence. The Government should reflect on its approach further, with a view to providing greater clarity in the Bill of the intended functions of the MMO.”

The committee is uncomfortable about a number of issues related to the MMO. It is quite concerned by the lack of resources allocated to the new body but even more concerned about the lack of a clear timetable for transferring powers to the new body.

It wants the Government to “set out its timetable for the handover of specific functions in the transition of the MMO”. And it wants the MMO to be required to work with existing coastal and estuarial partnerships to support marine planning at local level.

In particular, the committee wants the MMO to promote new estuarial forums where they do not exist and to ensure that such forums are adequately resourced and given a specific role in the marine planning process.

The committee wants all Marine Policy Statements to be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny and to have the same status as will apply to National Policy Statements. Interestingly the committee then goes on to request that both Houses consider and approve the policy statement under an affirmative resolution procedure and be subject to scrutiny by the appropriate select committee. That could mean the same pressure being applied for similar scrutiny for the national policy guidelines under the Planning Bill. Ports are rumoured to be the first such National Policy Statement to be produced so watch this space for a lot of scrutiny on port developments.

The committee spent a great deal of time examining the provisions for establishing Marine Conservation Zones. It was concerned to try to sort out the need for such zones to be based on sound scientific criteria, while at the same time not allowing them to be regarded as exclusion zones (other than in exceptional circumstances) for all other forms of socio-economic activity.

It explicitly “emphasised the need to pay regard to existing international obligations (not least in respect of the international right of passage) the socio-economic costs and benefits of MCZs, and the ability of zones to accommodate other forms of use without harming their integrity, once the potential sites have been identified”.

The committee has tried, rather successfully, to steer a course through the sometimes differing priorities of the existing Conservation Agencies on the one hand and the socio-economic needs of existing business and livelihoods that might be damaged by the curtailment of any access or usage rights.

It has on the one hand recommended tightening up the objectives, controls, methodology and criteria to be applied to designation of MCZs and subsequent appraisal of the effectiveness of such zones. But they are still worried as this quotation shows:

“The Bill is very vague on by whom and how enforcement of MCZs will be undertaken. We are also unclear about how such zones will be identified and marked.”

Generally, the worries about how designation will be dealt with remain. But the committee prefers to see the role of the MMO defined as that of “statutory consultee”, leaving designation to the Secretary of State on the advice of the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisations, like Natural England. This means that the issue of socio-economic interests remains unresolved in the designation of MCZs.

Given the fiasco resulting from the allocation of marine windfarm licences, I would suggest that this is unfinished business for the marine industry, particularly estuarial ports, and that when the Bill reaches its Parliamentary stages their particular needs are kept uppermost in the minds of MPs and Peers when these issues are debated.

On coastal access, the primary range of recommendations came from the Select Committee forDefra. The maritime industry is only concerned about one issue in regard to this matter and that is to ensure that new coastal access provisions do not intrudeon port activities and do not prevent land adjacentto ports, which may be generally designated forfuture port development, from being used for such purpose.

On existing port land where such land is already in active use, or is under development, there should be no difficulty. This is because such land is “excepted” under the provisions of the Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000.

However, the definition of excepted land does not cover development land adjacent to a port (see Schedule 1, paragraph 9 to CROW) if that land is not under development or if planning permission is still required. This matter has not registered with the committee and is not dealt with in either report. Further unfinished business.

What is so surprising about the Joint Committee’s report is the amount of hard-line analysis and subsequent request for changes to be made — the Committee listed 96 recommendations. Surprising, because of the really outstanding effort by Defra to consult in advance.

Perhaps it is because of that consultation. What seems to have happened is that by enteringinto detailed dialogue with stakeholders, Defra has discovered a lot of goodwill and willingness to co-operate.

As a consequence, the draft Bill has become too flexible and enabling and the Joint Committee has reacted against that. It will be interesting to see how the different pressures on Defra will now be reflected as the Bill comes forward for Parliamentary debate and consideration.

But as ever, with a Bill such as the Marine Bill, which will have a lasting and significant impact over the next two decades, the maritime industry perhaps needs a stronger focus when it starts its Parliamentary process.

Out of the Joint Committee’s 113 written representations only about six came from ports and shipping industry. The vast majority of them came from environmental groups and conservation bodies.

Of course Defra itself may have received many more submissions from the maritime industry but it is worth reminding the industry that it should ensure that its own interests are protected.

Nicholas Finney OBE is managing director of The Waterfront Partnership

Ministers water down EU directive on accidents

Governments resist marine investigation plans

Justin Stares – Lloyd’s List Thursday 7 August 2008

NATIONAL governments are attempting to water down a European Union directive on accident investigation by restricting compulsory probes to “very serious” accidents.

The European commission and European parliament want to see standardised investigations take place after all serious maritime accidents, but by adding the word “very”, governments represented on the EU council of ministers are seeking to ensure that the new Brussels powers would hardly ever be used.

The insertion of the key word is revealed in a parliament paper written by Euro MP Jaromir Kohlicek, who is rapporteur for the directive “establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector”.

He states that parliament will fight to have the word removed.

“It is not acceptable to limit mandatory safety investigations to very serious incidents only (thus excluding serious accidents),” wrote Mr Kohlicek.

He also argues that distress alerts should fall under the directive, which if it becomes law would create new accident investigation bodies.

“Distress alerts should remain within the scope of the directive so that they are at least examined by the competent body, who may subsequently decide whether or not to carry out a full investigation,” said the Czech MEP, who is a member of the Nordic Green Left party.

Behind the inter-institutional spat is a plan to create “independent specialised bodies with investigative powers”. If incidents involve two or more EU member states, the directive provides for joint investigations under the lead of one “with a view to avoiding parallel investigations”. If there is no agreement on who should lead, the commission will decide. The proposal would also impose common investigation methodology throughout the EU.

Member states have shown themselves reluctant to create independent bodies (that would theoretically be free from political interference) for maritime safety. Governments are also resisting plans to create such bodies for deciding the fate of distressed ships, including the possibility of offering them a place of refuge.

Neither do governments like having methodologies imposed on them by Brussels. According to the amended text of the council of ministers, governments would have the right to decide if such methodology should be followed.

But parliament will also resist this change. “Your rapporteur considers it essential that member states apply a common methodology in investigating accidents, such as foreseen by the commission proposal. The council’s changes to the text, according to which member states would only have to follow principles of the common methodology, should thus be rejected,” Mr Kohlicek writes.

He adds that it is “of utmost importance to ensure that investigative bodies are impartial and functionally independent. The directive should make specific references to those national marine authorities, from which the investigative bodies must be functionally independent because there could otherwise be a potential conflict of interest”.

The Strasbourg parliament and the Brussels-based council are at loggerheads over independent bodies and places of refuge, though the directive on accident investigation has not been considered divisive until now.

Both sides will look again at the text later on this year.

Governments tend to resist transferring sovereignty to Brussels because once it has been transferred, there is almost no chance of getting it back.

Britain has been among those countries to support the commission’s plans, according to a spokesman for the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

”The MAIB has been closely engaged in the development of this directive,” he said. “We welcome the fact that all EU states will now be required to conduct independent marine safety investigations. This will enhance future marine safety.”

Additional reporting by David Osler.