EDITORIAL APRIL 2008

May 7th, 2008 by JCB
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The last year has seen several investigations into incidents involving pilots and one factor emerging is that frequently there has not been a clear communication between the Pilot and Master as to the intended passage / manoeuvre. In most cases the paperwork exchange has been correctly undertaken but the arrival of Voyage Data Recorders (VDR) means that conversations between the Master and pilot prior to an incident can be replayed and examined and these are revealing that frequently the exchange is limited to ticking boxes with little or no elaboration on detail. If the Master doesn’t ask for details and bridge team takes very little interest in the passage then the scene is set for an incident resulting from “single person error”. The increasing fitting of VDR’s means that pilots must adopt a professional attitude and, in addition to ticking boxes on forms, should explain to the Captain all relevant information for a passage and encourage dialogue. In turn the Captain has a duty to expand upon the information contained on the pilot card. When it comes to manoeuvring on or off a berth it must be clear who is undertaking the manoeuvre and even if the Master is handling the ship the pilot has a duty to fully apprise him of his local knowledge regarding tidal effects, other traffic movements etc and monitor the manoeuvre. Regardless of who is handling the ship both the master and pilot should be clear as to how the manoeuvre will be undertaken to ensure the safest outcome.

Following the Cosco Busan allision with the Bay Bridge in San Francisco the conduct of pilots is being examined in detail and a timely article by Rotterdam pilot, Margriet Torpstra, expands on this topic here and its content should be carefully noted by all pilots.

In addition to this article Margriet Torpstra has also produced two training DVD’s in association with the Dutch shipping group Vroon. To read the review click here.