Marine piloting, one of a kind profession

by Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana

It wasn't entirely a bright sunny day over the mildly aggressive seas off the shores of the Colombo harbour that was blanketed with a heavy gloomy sky with the horizon barely visible.

Capt Palitha Mannapperuma on the pilot boat Pix: Chinthaka Kumarasinghe

The Pilot Boat

The clock struck ten in ante meridian inside the seven storeyed Port Control Tower where the officers were already busy radio communicating with an arriving vessel that was scheduled to enter the port in few moments.

The vessel which was gradually approaching the harbour was to be met by a Marine Pilot in mid sea who would thereafter take control of the navigation of the ship and guide her to the desired dock through the entry once of the port.

The next moment Captain Palitha Mannapperuma, the Senior Marine Pilot of the day who was leisurely watching a soccer match on TV at the Pilot Station at the bottom of the Port Control Tower was given a chit from the control room above that the vessel he was waiting according to the daily schedule had finally arrived.

Capt Mannapperuma, an experienced sea dog, who was already clad in the pilot uniform, a plain white shirt and a pair of white shorts with his usual trainers, jumped out of the couch to grab the life jacket as well as not forgetting his cap and shades.

Rare opportunity

Within seconds he was seen outside the control tower boarding a small boat, which is known as a Pilot Boat that had been waiting prepared for the 10 o'clock job, berthed near the Pilot Station in the new Port Control Tower situated on the farthest point of the right arm of the newly constructed Colombo South Harbour. The boat engine was already running manned by its coxwain on the control panel and the engine driver and two boatmen also on board waiting. Unlike other days, three visitors, the writer of this article accompanied by his photographer and another journalist got one of the most rare opportunities to witness first hand a vessel being piloted into a harbour. Two more experienced Pilots got on board, Captain Nirmal Silva and Captain Gajaba Sirimanne to explain us what was happening next.

Captain Mannapperuma who sat in front ordered to leave with which the pilot boat started to travel a quick journey of three nautical miles into mid sea, out of the harbour to meet the oncoming vessel. With the gloomy weather backed by mildly rough sea lifted the speeding pilot boat to travel on top of the waves spearhead to encounter the arriving ship with the cabin wipers rapidly moving to get a clear sight amidst the constant sea spray and a drizzle prevailed. With our eager eyes on the blurred horizon expecting a ship treated with the first sight of MV X-press Ganges, a container carrier manned by Philipino officers and crew, emerging from far. We were soon in the Pilot Boarding Grounds, a location where the ships are boarded by the pilots. In the vicinity was an average sized container carrying vessel loaded with the containers moving at an average speed of about five knots per hour heading towards the old entry point of the Colombo Harbour.

The pilot boat approached the running vessel and in the next moment we were travelling parallel to the big ship at a steady pace.

Initial step

The operator of the pilot boat gradually aligned the moving vessel along the right side of the hull of the container carrier from which a rope ladder was thrown out to the pilot boat. While the boatman on the pilot boat made sure that the ladder was not wavering it was Captain Mannapperuma who got into action swiftly climbing up the 12-foot ladder and boarded X-press Ganges. Having completed the initial step we detached from the container carrier letting the marine pilot to take control thereafter. Captain Mannapperuma who entered the six storeyed tall Control Bridge of X-press Ganges was seen instructing the Master of the ship or the Captain to how to steer the ship on the correct course.

The ship was then seen heading towards the old harbour entry point through the channel.

The four pilots on duty. From left: Capt. Sopaka Karunasundera, Capt. Nirmal Silva, Capt. Palitha Mannapperuma and Capt. Gajaba Sirimanne.

The tug boats push the vessel to berth it.

In the meantime the pilot boat carried us back to the Pilot Station from where we got onto a vehicle to go to the jetty of the South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) where the MV X-press Ganges was expected to arrive for docking. The vessel was seen safely entering the basin and approaching the SAGT terminal at a low but steady pace. When the vessel was nearing the berth (jetty) two tug boats slowly approached from the opposite direction started pushing the forward moving ship towards the terminal so that the ship could safely rest along the fenders or the large panels with shock absorbing rubber fixed on to the terminal to absorb the shock of a berthing ship.

Captain Nirmal Silva who explained us about the berthing procedure said that a moving ship cannot be stopped on the spot like any other vehicle as there are no such things called brakes on a vessel. Therefore, the movement has to be stopped gradually with the controlling speed and finally activating reversing propulsion, or in simpler terms making the ship's propellers to move in the opposite direction so that the speed would be cut down to a stand still within a reasonable time. Once the vessel was at berth, large ropes were thrown out to the berth was tied against the bollards to keep the ship securely moored alongside the berth. A gangway was lowered by the ship's crew who made sure that it was safe to board the vessel.

We had the opportunity to board the ship which we did by climbing up to the control bridge to meet the Ship's Master and Captain Mannapperuma who had by then had successfully completed another piloting job.

The ships in mid sea are met by the marine pilots in an identified area called Pilot Boarding Ground which are indicated by various buoys. The limits of a channel in which the ships are supposed to enter into the harbour are marked by port hand buoys which are red in colour on the left hand side and starboard buoys which are green on the right side. Channel of the old Colombo Harbour is 16 meters in depth and the new Colombo South Harbour channel is 21 meters in depth where the biggest ships in the world can easily enter.

History

Maritime Piloting or marine piloting is one of the oldest professions in the world that dates back to Biblical times of ancient Greek and Roman eras and as old as sailing itself. It is one of the most important features of maritime safety. This was first regulated in 400BC and the formal initiation of the pilotage in the United Kingdom was in 1540 once the Trinity House was established in London. Following the creation of Trinity House of Deptford Strand in 1513, which ultimately became the principal maritime authority in the UK, it took many years before a reasonable amount of authority was gained over Thames pilotage.

Early pilots were known as Lodesman or Lotesman (German word linked to Lodesone the early compass). The name "pilot" derives from the Dutch 'Pijl' = vertically straight and 'Leod' = plumb lead used for measuring depth.

Dangerous waters

Pilots came into being in the earliest times of maritime trade principally to provide ships with safe passage into harbours or through dangerous waters. As a consequence pilots were usually experienced mariners with particular knowledge of the local waters where they plied their trade.

The Laws of Oleron (the underlying laws forming the basis of maritime law) exacted severe penalties on any pilot who lost a ship in his care. He was beheaded at the windlass by the crew who were free of any penalty. In England in the 13th century a pilot could be hanged for losing a ship.

Captain Sopaka Karunasundera explaining about the pilotage said a pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. Pilots are expert shiphandlers who possess detailed knowledge of local waterways. The master has full responsibility for safe navigation of his vessel, even if a pilot is on board. If he has clear grounds that the pilot may jeopardise the safety of navigation, he can relieve him from his duties and ask for another pilot or, if not compulsory to have a pilot on board, navigate the vessel without one. Only in transit of the Panama Canal does the pilot have the full responsibility for the navigation of the vessel. In English Law, Section 742 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 defines a pilot as "any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof". In other words, someone other than a member of the crew who has control over the speed, direction, and movement of the ship. The current United Kingdom legislation governing pilotage is the Pilotage Act 1987.

In Sri Lanka marine pilotage was started to regulate since 1850 which was initiated by the Britishers. But there are evidence of operation of pilotage even in eras before that when old Ceylon was amidst many international shipping routes.

Career as a marine pilot

It is not easy to start a career as a maritime pilot. The four pilots who were on duty on that day including Captain Palitha Mannapperuma, Captain Nirmal Silva, Captain Sopaka Karunasundera and Captain Gajaba Sirimanne had started their careers as Cadet Officers about three decades ago. To become a pilot first one has to become a Master Mariner or a Captain of a Ship. To obtain license as a Master Mariner there has to be a minimum experience of six years of sea time and passing two professional examinations inbetween.

In Sri Lanka once somebody becomes a Captain he needs a minimum of 24 months of command experience before being eligible to be appointed as a Maritime Pilot.

Risky job

Captain Mannapperuma who joined the service in 1979 as a Deck Cadet through Ceylon Shipping Corporation and was promoted to the rank of Captain during the course of time. Today he is one of the experienced pilots among many other experienced pilots in the Colombo Pilot Station who has done over 3,000 jobs.

Refreshing his memory Captain Mannapperuma said that piloting can be one of the most risk involved jobs in the maritime field. Boarding a ship was a tricky and risky job in mid sea as both vessels are moving and cannot afford to slow down in the process of doing so. Many accidents have been reported through out the history around the world including in Sri Lanka where pilots have fallen into the sea whilst boarding and met with other horrible accidents that had even claimed their lives. And more over risks pertaining to controlling a ship until its safe berthing is a huge challenge that falls upon the responsibility of a single person. Leading a ship to a disaster could incur losses of billions of dollars not to mention the cargo it carries.

Nowadays the world produces huge ships both cruise liners and container carriers that may be worth millions of dollars. And the cargo or human lives they carry may worth 10 times the value of the vessel itself. Putting such vessel into trouble is a serious offence that could be dealt with a grave punishment.

Challenge

In 2007 Captain Mannapperuma faced with a dangerous challenge. He was piloting a ship as usual which was running approximately six knots an hour that was to enter through the very narrow entrance of the old harbour. Within about a cable (one tenth of a kilometre) to the entrance a blackout was experienced on the ship where not a drop of power at least to turn a warning light on to the harbour. Since the forward thrust has to be slowed down upon arrival of the entrance by activating reversing propulsion this was practically impossible due to the power failure.

The ship was naturally moving ahead with no controls and would ram into the walls of the entrance if the speed was not controlled immediately. The ship's anchors were dropped to arrest the headway and emergency messages were sent to summon three escorting tug boats which pulled the ship the opposite direction with a great thrust and stopping the vessel within a couple of hundred metres from the main breakwater.

If not for the tugs a serious accident would have happened, Captain Mannapperuma added.

In a busy operating harbour where dozens of vessels arrive in a tight schedule a Senior Marine Pilot of the day gets the authority to decide the priority of the incoming vessel or which ship would be piloted into the port first. Normally priority is accordingly given to the world accepted order of passenger ships, naval ships, container mother ships (large container carriers), container feeder ships (regular and small container carriers), tankers and cargo ships.

The Colombo Marine Pilots come under the purview Harbour Master Captain Ravi Jayawickrema and Senior Deputy Harbour Master Captain Athula Hewawitharane. The team includes Captains Lalitha Jayasuriya, Diresh Palihena, Palitha de Lanerolle, Ravi Jayaratne, Sesha Athuraliya, Sanath Munasinghe, Lalantha Senanayake, Palitha Mannapperuma, Lalantha de Silva, Nirmal Silva, Sopaka Karunasundera, Vasantha Samaranayake, Amitha Abeyratne, Gajaba Sirimanne, Nandika Pieris, Sampath Athukorale, Ajith Herath, Uditha Karunatillake, Sriyantha Arampath.