200342 The Pilot's View

The Pilot's View
Report No. 200342

I am writing with reference to MARS report 200331

(SEAWAYS June 2003)

. The master who wrote the report has obviously had some bad experiences with pilots, which I regret. I would like to make a few points from the pilot's perspective.

When I board a vessel, on the occasions that I am presented with the vessel's information sheet, I do not settle down to study it in detail. There is a great deal of information presented, some of which is useful to the pilot, some not. I assume that the master is not going to disappear and I prefer to exchange information with him verbally. After all, he knows how the ship handles. The information sheet does not say "she takes a lot of stopping in this condition" or "she is very right-handed in ballast" This sort of information is much more useful to the pilot whilst building up a working relationship with the master. I generally find that masters enjoy talking about the handling qualities of their ship.

We have a passage planning sheet that we prepare before boarding the vessel. Once aboard, the draught and other information can be added to enable the pilot to give the master minimum under keel clearance and other relevant information. We show the master where the berth is, the location of other vessels, the manoeuvres that we will be carrying out and why. Usually the master gives this a cursory glance so that we can get on and look out of the window!

I find that the pilot/master relationship is one of trust on both sides and it is much better to build this relationship verbally then by exchanging pieces of paper. Perhaps the author of the report needs to ask the pilot what he intends to do? I am sure he will be only too willing to explain. Maybe the pilot considers the master to be disinterested in where he is going? Surely the aims of the master and pilot are coincidental - to get the ship alongside safely and efficiently - thus avoiding any more paperwork? This can be achieved amicably and by working as a team. A majority of the time I find the experience of piloting a ship most enjoyable, even during difficult circumstances.