Editorial: John Clandillon-Baker

Conference Report edited JCB

Chairman’s Report Les Cate

PMSC Working Group JCB

Pension News Debbie Marten

Conference Social

Technical & Training G Rees

ObituariesLettersDVD ReviewMarine Pilots Golfing SocietyThe Law of IndependenceNelson Funeral Re-enactment

PNPF: Richard Williamson, Boston

Following the now standard practice ofholding a pre-conference pensions sessionRichard provided delegates with anoverview of the PNPF activities since the2004 conference. The primary change hadbeen that there was now a requirement fortrustees to be formally trained and thistraining requirement was being enhancedall the time.

The rest of Richard’s report was mainlybased on the written report circulated todelegates and he covered the followingtopics:

PNPF Trust CompanyChanges to PersonnelMembership: There had been a large

reduction in retirements following a

tightening of the ill health retirement ruleswhich had brought them into line withindustry norms. This had benefited thefund.

Review of the Equity MarketInvestments and returnsFund ValueTriennial Valuation

Having explained all the above with respectto the fund, Richard explained thatalthough under the old Minimum FundingRequirement (MFR) the fund was fullyfunded, the triennial valuation now used arange of different parameters and this hadindicated an on-going deficit. The PNPFwas addressing this by:

Raising the retirement age from 60-65(rather than raise contributions).

Adjusting the investment strategy which

Editorial

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JANUARY 2006 No.284The official organ of the United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’Association

DIVIDE D W E FALL

UNITE

DWESTAND

Conference 2005

In This Issue

It is a rare pleasure for me to open 2006with some very good news for pilots. Onthe 18th January the EU Ports Directivewas finally defeated in the EU Parliamentby an overwhelming vote by MEPs of 532against, 120 for and 25 abstentions.Although the defeat was a result of manydifferent groups opposing it, the UKMPAthrough EMPA had undertaken a highlysuccessful lobbying campaign which hadplayed an important role in bringing aboutthis final defeat of the proposed legislation.Of course, all of this should have beenunnecessary since the MEPs had alreadythrown the directive out before inNovember 2003 and it is a sad reflectionon the democratic process in the EU thatfollowing the initial rejection, the SpanishTransport Commissioner, Loyola dePalacio, in a parting gesture of defiancebefore she left the Commission, decided tore-present the directive. This resulted in theCommission deciding to ignore the MEP’svote of rejection and return it to thelegislative process. The last two years havetherefore seen all the opponents wastemuch time and resources in re-submittingall their arguments for a second time. Hasit gone away for good? Probably not, butthe indications are that ports will now becovered by a wider transport directive andit is to be hoped that the lessons of theoverwhelming defeat of the Ports Directivewill have been noted and the controversialissues of competition in pilotage and selfhandling will result in these being dropped.Needless to say, the UKMPA and EMPAare monitoring events very closely.

Remaining in Europe, the other goodnews is that the ESMARALDA projectmentioned in my October 2005 editorialhas also been abandoned. The UKMPA arehoping that such good news will besupplemented by a successful resolution ofthe Belfast dispute, Kristian Pederson’sdismissal appeal and the on-going Humberissue.

We wish you all a happy and prosperous2006.

John Clandillon-BakerTel: 01304 613020

Email: john@pilotmag.co.ukCanterbury Gate House, Ash Road

Sandwich, Kent CT13 9HZ

The 118th Annual conference was hosted jointly by London and the Medwaydistricts at the Village Hotel, Maidstone on the 11th -12th November. As usualthere was a packed agenda to fill the two days and for those who were unable toattend the following is a brief resume of the proceedings. The full minutes areavailable for members upon request to the London office.

January 2006 2 The Pilot

had resulted in 10% of the fund beinginvested in a “Hedge” fund managed byGoldman Sachs.

Had held discussions with the fund’s“Participating Bodies” and the UKMPA asto how to deal with the deficit.

Richard concluded his report byproviding delegates with an explanation ofHedge funds and reassured the delegatesthat he was personally convinced that thefund would continue to provide on-goingpensions to members.

Debbie Marten’s report appears on p.8

OPENING SPEECH:Michael Grey, Lloyd’s List

UKMPA Chairman Les Cate formallyopened the conference and delegatesobserved one minute’s silence in memory ofEMPA President Gianfranco Gasperini,IMPA President Hein Merhkens and pastUKMPA president Sir James Callaghan, allof whom had died during the past year.

Michael Grey then opened the conferenceand in a lively speech explained how heused the many fora where he was invited tospeak to explain the key role that pilotsplayed in ensuring the safety of ships inport approaches. In particular he alwaysreminded ship owners that if their vesseldoes suffer damage then they shouldcompare the cost of pilotage to the cost of“lawyerage”!

Michael went on to express the concernthat over zealous officials, the blameculture and the lack of respect shown toprofessionals such as Masters and pilotswas causing young recruits to abandon acareer at sea in an industry alreadysuffering from an acute shortage of skilledprofessionals. He personally felt that thehope that technology would provide asolution was misguided since there was noalternative to “hands-on” experienced

professionals although it was essential thatpilots adopted and were trained in the useof any technology that would enhancesafety.

Michael then formally opened theconference to warm applause from thedelegates.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORTAn updated report appears on p.5

BUDGET REPORT ANDFINANCIAL STATEMENT:Treasurer: John Pretswell (Forth)

John opened by detailing the membershipwhich currently stood at 486.

These figures represented a reduction of 7since 2004. He then detailed the incomeand expenditure items for 2005 from whichhe had drawn up the budget proposals for2006. Questions were asked about the legalexpenditure which were passed to theChairman who explained which elementshad been funded by the T&G and whichmatters were being dealt with by theUKMPA through Blake Lapthorn Linnel(BLL) and Barrie Youde and he alsoexplained the reason why the threedifferent legal teams were engaged on theissues currently being dealt with.

DfT:Phil Carey, Head of Ports Division

Phil provided a Power point presentation tothe delegates whereby he explained therelationship between the MCA (executiveagency of the DfT) and the DfT and howthey worked together on matters such asmaritime safety, navigation policy and thePMSC. This co-operation also includedother bodies such as the GeneralLighthouse Authorities (GLAs).

EU DIRECTIVE: The UK Government hadnot welcomed the return of this Directivesince in many ways it was a worsedocument than the earlier version that hadbeen rejected in 2003.

PORTS POLICY REVIEW: This would begetting under way early in 2006. The lastpolicy review in 2000 acknowledged theprinciple of a market led port industry withthe Government as regulator but the DfTneeded to respond to new developmentssuch as the reclassification of trust portsand the large increase in containermovements. Small ports could be supportedas part of local regeneration or, if no longerhandling trade could be better used forredevelopment. The review would notcommence until the outstanding containerterminal planning applications had beendealt with early in 2006. Once the reviewcommenced the UKMPA would be fully

involved with the consultation in particularwith respect to safety and security issues.

SECURITY: This was a separate issue withwhich the department was involved byensuring that ports were up to date withsecurity issues.

SAFETY: The UK had a good record on thisbut the review would be ensuring standardswere implemented and this would requireprimary legislation. The Safer PortsInitiative where the DfT has beensupported by the H&SE has achievedpositive results above Government targetsbut there was no place for complacency.

PMSC: The MAIB had recommended thatthe DfT review the provision of powersnecessary for the MCA to effectivelymonitor implementation and compliancewith the Code and the DfT are currentlycomplying with this recommendation.

INCIDENT MANAGEMENT: This wasanother area of policy which was beingdealt with by the Department followingMAIB reports and procedures were beingdrawn up based on MAIBrecommendations.

CHIRP: The DfT had confirmed funding forCHIRP for a further three years.

PILOTAGE: Two general items wereoutstanding and these were pilot boardingand the Working Time Directive.

NOS: The new shipping Minister, Dr.Stephen Ladyman was actively supportingthe maritime sector and promotingstandards for shipping and the skillsagenda.

PORT SAFETY BILL: Further to this the DfTwere continuing to press for Parliamentarytime to amend the Pilotage Act and tounderpin the PMSC.

During the subsequent Q&A session Philwas able to clarify the many issues raised byhis presentation.Michael Grey

Phil Carey

The Pilot 3 January 2006

MCA, MAIB & IMO:Don Cockrill (London)

Don expressed frustration that after all thework on the PMSC, the only action takenin support of the Code by the DfT andMCA had been to produce the requirementfor the CHA’s to submit a “Statement ofCompliance” and it remained to be seen asto whether or not even this would result inimproved compliance. From the experienceof the areas in which he wasm involvedDon was of the opinion that there was adeliberate policy of excluding pilots fromthe policy discussions by the ports andshipping industries.

Due to a shortage of time Don referreddelegates to the written reports containedwithin the delegates conference pack.

PMSC Working Group meeting on p.6

LEGAL:Fergus Whitty, Legal Director T&G

The theme for this year’s address toconference by Fergus Whitty was AgeDiscrimination, which was to be subject ofthe “Employment Equality Regulations” tobe implemented in October 2006. AfterOctober 2006 any discrimination based onage would only be acceptable if it wasjustified and certain criteria and casehistories for this were explained to thedelegates.

Employers would in future have tospecify a “Normal Retirement Age” (NRA)and there were procedures to be followedby both employers and employees withrespect to this. The employer had to explainto an employee that they had the right torequest to continue working after the NRAand once the new legislation wasimplemented the employee would have aright to “request” to stay on after the NRAand the employer would have a legal “dutyto consider” such requests.

Q&A: In the ensuing Q&A session Fergusdefined NRA as that determined by theemployers pension fund. Also thelegislation would not normally affect thosepilots who were self employed unless theywere operating under a contract to supplythe service where advice would need to besought.

Fergus also provided clarification overspecifying age limits for certain jobs whichused to be a common factor of pilotage.This would be very difficult and if feltnecessary then the policy would need tocomply with the “justification”requirements.

A point was made by Chris Hughes(Europilots) concerning the fact thatalthough self employed the conditions ofhis authorisation by Trinity House stated amaximum age of 67. How would thelegislation affect this?

Fergus agreed that this was a very validpoint which he would seek to clarify sincethe legislation would not appear to coversuch an anomaly.

IMPA:Nick Cutmore (Secretary IMPA)

Nick presented the report on behalf ofGeoff Taylor who was unable to present thereport in person due to illness.

Geoff’s report opened by paying tributeto Hein Mehrkens who had sadly diedduring 2005. As Senior Vice PresidentGeoff had been nominated as ActingPresident to serve out the remaining term ofHein’s Presidency to November 2006 andhe had been honoured to accept this.

Two key issues which IMPA werecurrently involved in were the EU Portsdirective and also the ESMARALDAproject which once again meant thatarguments previously used in questioningbodies such as IALA over “Remotepilotage” would need to be revived tochallenge the new phraseology of “remoteaccess”. Denmark were seeking to make theGreat Belt a compulsory pilotage area. TheDanish Maritime Administration hadrequested support for the proposal forcompulsory pilotage at IMO and haddetailed the costs of pilotage against anexact breakdown of costs of a grounding ofa tanker.

The matter of compulsory pilotage in theTorres Straits had caused some dilemma forIMPA in that the administration of theproposed pilotage service would be usingcompetitive pilotage services which wasagainst IMPA principles. Negotiations withAustralia over this issue had beenconstructive and IMPA had finally agreedto support the motion.

IMPA had achieved a success in formallyremoving references to shore based pilotagefrom the IALA VTS manual. Geoff waspleased to report that IMPA membershipwas continuing to grow and it now hadover 8,000 members. The finances were ingood order but costs were high and pilotsshould all recognise that especially at IMOthe IMPA representatives were dealing withmany from the highest level of memberGovernments and were often pitchedagainst other vested interests with verylarge budgets!

During the last year IMPA had hadmeetings with three different P&I Clubsand these had been very constructive forboth sides. The Congress of Canadianpilots had been well attended by manyinfluential international representatives.Deep Sea pilotage was suffering on-goingproblems resulting from the competitionbetween the groups. The report remindedall pilots that the next IMPA Congresswould be in Cuba (November 2006) and itwas to be hoped that as many members as

possible would attend. The report wasaccepted by warm applause in recognitionof the valuable work by Geoff in hisabsence.

TECHNICAL & TRAINING, ECTS,MarNISAn updated report is on p.9

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS:Lord Tony Berkeley

President Lord Tony Berkeley opened hisspeech by apologising for not having beenable to attend day 1 of the conference. Thishad been due to his attendance at theBilbao conference on ports, shipping andcontainerisation, followed by a visit toBrussels for a meeting with the TransportCommission to present a paper on futuretransport policy. This meeting had mainlydealt with maritime security. At present theway in which different sectors dealt withsecurity was random and not alwayseffective. Another point raised in themeeting was the expansion in growth inmaritime trade. On the continent there wasgrowing impetus to move traffic off theroad and rail networks onto canals. In LordBerkeley’s own field of rail transportdiscussions were taking place over theinterdependency of transport and energypolicies, in particular over coal. The resultis that imports from deep sea were likely toremain steady or increase despite othersources of energy coming on line. Therewas a need for a Government led portspolicy in order to ensure that the UKremained a base hub for shipping ratherthan become a feeder outpost from Europe.The House of Lords had been attemptingfor several years to introduce anamendment to the Harbours Act to bring

Lord Tony Berkeley

January 2006 4 The Pilot

the planning procedures in line with thoseof roads. So far the attempts had beenrejected by the commons but it was hopedthat this time (3rd) it may be allowed to gothrough. Lord Berkeley concluded bypaying tribute to the hard work anddedication by Les Cate and the SectionCommittee and pledged his continuingsupport of the UKMPA in highlighting theessential safety role played by pilots.

LEGAL:Mark Foden, Blake Lapthorn Linnell (BLL)

Mark detailed the work undertaken by BLLon behalf of pilots during 2005. Thisincluded reviewing contracts for bothemployed and self employed pilots, unfairdismissal and with the London pilotsadvising on the proposed new arrangementfor Local Navigation Certificates forwatermen.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY Section 22(1) of the 1987 Pilotage Act

had provided valuable protection for pilotsand had thus kept the number of claimsagainst them low. This legal protection wasnow being challenged and Mark was of theopinion that it was only a matter of timebefore a test case claim was made againstan individual pilot. This section of the Actjust covers civil liability for negligence butnot criminal misconduct which is coveredunder Section 21.

In the case of a negligence claim against apilot although 22(1) provides a maximumpersonal financial liability of £1000 thepilot would also be likely to have hisauthorisation suspended or removed and hewould then be responsible for his own legaldefence costs in fighting the suspension andpotentially the costs of the claimant. Thelimitation also only applies when a pilot isundertaking his duties as a pilot. It doesNOT apply to criminal cases which may bebrought following an incident under theother Acts such as the Water Resources Actor if manslaughter charges are broughtfollowing a fatality in which a pilot may beimplicated. It was for this reason that Markwas of the opinion that pilots needed to

ensure that they had adequate insurancecover.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TOTHE 1987 PILOTAGE ACT: Joe Wilson (Tees), Barrie Youde,(Solicitor, Hill Dickinson)James Weedon (DfT)

Joe detailed the proposed amendments andnew Sections that it was hoped could beincluded in a new Pilotage Act. Thedocument provoked considerablediscussion amongst the delegates and JamesWeedon (DfT) was able to clarify some ofthe points on procedure and Barrie Youdewas able to clarify some of the legalphraseology and explain the legal reasoningbehind some of the proposed amendments.Following the discussion it was agreed thatSC members would hold a meeting with theDfT on procedures and that the documentwould be placed on the members’ onlysection of the UKMPA website for membersto consult and comment.

CHIRP:Mike Powell (Director)

CHIRP had been subjected to severalreviews by various departments during2005 and this had delayed work on someinvestigations. The good news was thatfunding had been approved for a furtherthree years. Since its inception, CHIRP hadreceived 221 reports and about 100 of thesehad been progressed into action. About70% were from the commercial merchantsector and the other 30% fishing andleisure. The “Maritime Feedback”newsletter now has a circulation of140,000 and there was increasing interestfrom abroad where around 30,000 werecurrently sent to 47 countries. Mikedetailed the many areas where CHIRP hadbeen involved and he explained theprocesses which had resulted in changesbeing implemented by (sometimesreluctant) management. With respect toreports from pilots, reports concerning PECissues had reduced but there were

increasing reports concerning VTS. Therehad also been reports concerning theunfamiliarity and complexity of some newbridge equipment along with poor bridgeteam management problems and there hadalso been reports concerning fatigueinduced by pilots’ rosters. During thesubsequent discussion many differentpoints were covered and Mike was able toclarify specific aspects of the CHIRPprocess to delegates.

MAIB:Stephen Mayer (Chief Executive)

The MAIB investigated any accidentinvolving a British registered vessel worldwide and any accidents involving any vesselin UK waters. It was a totally independentbody which meant that it was independentof the MCA, DfT, lawyers and vestedinterests within the maritime industry. Thesole aim is to investigate the root cause ofan accident and it was not the role of theMAIB to establish and apportion anyblame. The outcome of investigations wasto provide “lessons learned” in the hopethat similar accidents can be avoided in thefuture.

The MAIB operates under the MerchantShipping Act and the investigators haveconsiderable powers which exceed those ofthe police and they can interview anyone,board vessels, enter property and seizedocuments in connection with an enquiry.There is no right to silence and lawyers maybe excluded. In return for these powersthere is a strict confidentiality placed uponthe investigation.

The MAIB is now receiving around 2500accident reports per year and it decideswhich accidents should be investigatedalthough the Secretary of State may requestan investigation into an incident which theMAIB had decided not to. The benefits ofan MAIB investigation over an internal HA

Stephen Mayer

Delegates at work

The Pilot 5 January 2006

or P&I investigation was that there was novested interest in the outcome and thereforethe recommendations were valuable indetermining the effectiveness of existinglegislation and helped to underpinproposed legislation and also identifyingareas of concern which may currently lacklegislation. The key areas of concern at themoment are:

Fishing: Statistically now the most dan-gerous profession and existing legisla-tion is largely ineffectiveLeisure: Is unregulatedCommercial: Fatigue

This area of fatigue has been of greatconcern to the MAIB especially on the 2watch system using the Master & Mateused on the short sea trade. The awarenesscampaign by the MAIB has resulted in thematter now being formally tabled for inclu-sion at IMO in 2006. The MAIB recom-mendation is for a minimum of 2 watchkeepers in addition to the Master. Althoughthere was widespread support for this therewas a small group of opponents but theMAIB will not let the matter be sidelined.This positive action was applauded by thedelegates. In addition to fatigue the secondkey area of concern was complacency andthe MAIB found it regrettable that therewere still far too many accidents resultingfrom complacent attitudes by Masters.

Stephen concluded his presentation byexplaining that accidents usually resultedfrom a failure of more than one element ofsafety and provided some graphic exampleswhich revealed such failures which couldhave been avoided by an awareness of riskthrough formal risk assessments by thebridge team.

INSURANCES:Paul Haysom, Ken Pound, Drew Smith

Following the withdrawal of cover byNavigators & General in 2004, PaulHaysom had arranged for a provisionalpolicy with Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) tocover members during 2005. A change inrules by the Financial Services Authority(FSA) meant that the UKMPA could nolonger provide a ‘group’ policy but asimilar policy with extended provisions hadbeen arranged with RSA which offered adiscount on premiums for members but infuture each individual would beindividually named. For this reason andalso for the convenience of submitting thepremium for tax relief it had been decidedto separate the insurance premiums fromthe general subscription.

The topic of insurances generatedconsiderable debate amongst the delegatesand the Drew Smith (Circle Insurance) andKen Pound (Ropners) were able to answerthe main points. The new policy nowcovers a member from the commencement

of the pilotage act until the completion andalso provides cover against pollutionincidents. Two cover options are availablefor £250,000 and £500,000 and individualmembers are free to choose whichevercover they prefer.

In answer to the question as to whetheror not the RSA policy was necessary, theSection Committee had examined anddiscussed this in detail, in particular withrespect to employed pilots, prior torecommending it for a conference vote. Theargument that an employed pilot wascovered by his HA’s insurance had beenproven not to be the case and with thegrowing ‘blame culture’ and evidence thatthe validity of £1000 limitation of liabilityunder the Pilotage Act may be subjected toa legal challenge the Section Committeewere in agreement that additional coverwas essential for all pilots. Following thediscussion the adoption of the new policyand the separation of the insurancepremiums from the general subscriptionwas put to a vote where the proposal wascarried by 45 votes in favour, 10abstentions and no votes against.

Since the conference it has beenconfirmed that all members will receive anindividual policy and tax receipt for theirpremium payment.

BELFAST:Liam Magee

Liam updated the delegates on the latestnews of the Belfast pilots’ dispute with theBelfast Harbour management. He thankedthe UKMPA and T&G for the valuableassistance which had been offered so farand explained that he had been a memberof NUMAST for many years and havingonly recently become a UKMPA membercould appreciate the considerable benefitsof UKMPA membership for pilots overNUMAST.

KRISTIAN PEDERSON:Dave Devey

Dave explained to delegates the argumentsthat ABP had used to dismiss Kristian for“gross misconduct”. At a preliminaryhearing the T&G lawyer had managed toprovide the all the relevant facts in supportof Kristian and the outcome was that theadjudicator had referred the case to a fulltribunal hearing. Having been involved inthe Humber, Belfast and SE Wales cases

Dave had noted that these disputes were allinter related and warned delegates that itwas necessary for all UKMPA members tofully support those affected.

HUMBER:Dave Devey

The Humber issue was still very much“alive” and the Misfeasance in PublicOffice case was proceeding with thesupport of Hill Dickenson and a top QC.Developments in this case were expectedduring 2006.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORTSection Committee’s workJoe Wilson (Tees): Amendments to thePilotage Act.

John Pretswell (Forth): Preparing thebudget

Geoff Taylor (Tees): As acting President ofIMPA, Geoff’s workload had increasedenormously but Geoff had been tireless inattending meetings and seminars aroundthe world promoting the pilotage agendaand making important contacts. Due to hisforthcoming retirement Geoff has nowstood down from the Section committee.

Peter Wylie (Tees): Was elected as rep-resentative for region 3 at the conference.

Don Cockrill (London): Had also beentenacious in working with the MCA, DfTand pushing the agenda on pilots NationalOccupational Standards (NOS) on thePMSC working group.

Dave Devey (Liverpool): Attended theHarbour Master meetings and was assistingJoe on amendments to the Pilotage Act.David had also been working onpreparations for Kristian Pederson’s claimagainst ABP for unfair dismissal.

Paul Haysom (Great Yarmouth): Paul hadworked throughout the year in finalizing anew insurance policy to replace theNavigators & General insurance cover thathad been withdrawn in 2004.

John Pearn (Milford Haven): Had replacedKristian Pederson and was responsible foroverseeing technical and training issues.John had also agreed to take over theEMPA brief from Les when Les’ term endedin 2007.

Parliamentary QuestionsLord Tony Berkeley has asked twoParliamentary questions. The Firstconcerned NOS for pilots and the replyfrom Lord Davies of Oldham had statedthat NOS had been adopted by manyCHAs but he went on to add that the MCA

CONFERENCE DATES2006

The Interim Delegate’s Meeting:London, Thursday 25th May.

Annual Conference:Eastbourne 6th - 7th December

January 2006 6 The Pilot

“has been actively engaged in work ontranslating the NOS into an underpinningnational qualification with Port Skills andSafety Ltd. (PSSL) and anticipate comp-leting a port marine foundation degreeframework in Spring 2006”.

The NOS agenda is seemingly beingdriven by PSSL and other bodies whichhave excluded the UKMPA from particip-ating and I am seeking clarification fromthe DfT over the policy and explaining thenecessity of pilots to be involved in matterswhich directly affected them.

The second question asked was a resultof the situation at Belfast whereby aconsultant had arranged for the SouthTyneside Maritime College to create asimulation of Belfast, in order to train upPEC holders to operate as pilots should theexisting pilots decide to take industrialaction over their current dispute withmanagement over a change in theirworking agreement.

Lord Berkeley asked: “Whether the useof a simulator at South Shields MaritimeCollege to train marine pilots to operate inBelfast will enable them to become fullyqualified to pilot ships there and, if not, forhow long these pilots will be required totrain in Belfast in order to gain thestatutory local knowledge required by thePilotage Act 1987 and to comply with therequirements of the PMSC and the recom-mendations of IMO resolution A960.”

Lord Davies replied: “It is for the CHAto determine the qualifications andexperience required of maritime pilots inBelfast, including the local knowledgecomponent required by the Act, Code andIMO Resolution. The MCA has received astatement of compliance with the PMSCfrom the Belfast Harbour Commission andthis assurance includes pilotage matters.”

Whilst the answer had been predictablethis PMQ had been tabled in order toensure that ports were aware that theircompliance with the 1987 Act, PMSC andIMO 960 was being monitored atGovernment level.

1987 Pilotage ActThe UKMPA’s proposed amendments to theAct have been submitted to James Weedon(Policy Advisor Ports Division) of the DfT.A “scoping paper” would now bepresented to the Ports Division and ifaccepted would form a new Port Safety Bill.

The UKMPA team working on theamendments are: Joe Wilson, Dave Deveyand Barrie Youde.

LegalBlake Lapthorn Lovell was representingseveral pilotage districts. The cost of up totwo hours for each district has been met bythe T&G but any time over that is charged

to the UKMPA and during the past yearthose legal costs had been considerable.

EuropeThe Ports Directive was finally rejected on18th January by a vote of MEPs by thefollowing voting:

532 against - 120 for - 25 abstentionsIn the plenary there were calls for starting

from scratch with a new white paper onPorts. Alternatively, the Services Directivethat will be discussed next month in theparliament could call for Transport to beincluded in it. It will not go away it wouldseem.

I am pleased to tell you that theESMERALDA document has not beenaccepted by the EU. Rumour has it that anew Ports document has surfaced calledEFFORT written by a Professor from aTechnical College in Hamburg that will bepresented to the EU. When we are able tolocate a copy it will be circulated to theDistricts.

Thanks to those pilots who contactedtheir MEPs. Pilotage was mentioned byMEPs from the NW, Tees, London andSouthampton. All sang from the samehymn sheet namely: competition in a safetyservice such as pilotage was dangerous.

Les Cate

PORT MARINE SAFETYCODE WORKING GROUPThe second meeting of this group was heldon 21st December and the UKMPA wasrepresented by Avald Wymark and GarethRees. You will recall from the reportfollowing the first meeting that the UKMPAwas concerned that there had been astalling process on both the formalintegration of the National OccupationalStandards (NOS) into the Code and also onthe issue of standards for PilotageExemption Certificate (PEC) holders.

NOS: With respect to the NOS there hadbeen no meetings of the working groupsince February 2005 despite the UKMPA’srepresentations to the DfT that the NOSformed an integral part of the PMSC.However it would appear from a reply to aquestion posed by Avald that the DfT iskeen to conclude this work but they areawaiting the finalisation of a MaritimeFoundation Degree (MFD) course that hasbeen drafted by Port Skills and SafetyLimited (PSSL) to enable port marineprofessionals to achieve recognised higherprofessional qualifications. The UKMPAare concerned that they have not been partyto the work on the MFD because they havenot been accepted as members of PSSL.

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The Pilot 7 January 2006

Gareth and Avald raised this fact at themeeting and applied to join the PSSL groupon the basis that since such a degree couldbe used as a pathway into pilotage then itwas essential that pilots were included inthe consultation process which is due to becompleted in March. PSSL representativeHarry Tilley agreed to consider this request.Simon Gooder from the MCA stated thatonce the MCA know where the FoundationDegree is headed, they will take forwardhow the NOS can be converted intoprofessional qualifications.

PECs: With respect to the PECs at theprevious meeting of the group in March2005 it had been proposed that a workinggroup should be set up to examine thisissue. At that meeting the UK Major PortsGroup (UKMPG) had protested that therewas a problem with ‘working groupoverload’ and instead it had been agreedthat the members of the group shouldproduce what they conceive as appropriateguidance for PECs and forward their viewsto the MCA. Only one such submission hadbeen received and that was from theUKMPA. Rather than take the UKMPA

response as accepted it was agreed at thismeeting that a working group beestablished and that the MCA would beresponsible for overseeing the group’swork.

The PEC and NOS issues will now bedealt with by a meeting in February orMarch of both the working groups on thesame day with a morning session andafternoon session allocated to each.

Other issues dealt with at the meetingwere:

Assured Compliance: This was adocument sent out by the MCA to all HAsfor them to confirm their compliance withthe PMSC. The response rate had been verypoor and the process had been criticised byboth the DfT and the UKMPA. Avald askedfor confirmation that there are currently nopowers to remove an incompetent CHAregardless of the severity of the problem.This was confirmed and the Secretary ofState is aware of the situation.

Incident Investigation: It appears thatwork on this has been going on for twoyears with a drafting group organised by

DfT. The UKMPA requested to join thisgroup but since it was considered an issuefor HAs this request was refused. TheUKMPA will however be monitoring thisissue

Pilot boarding: There are currently twomain guideline documents one of whichwas produced by the UKMPA and it wasagreed that these should be amalgamatedinto one that is acceptable to ALLstakeholders to the PMSC steering group,possibly through PSSL.MAIB: Several recent MAIB reports hadreferred issues to the PMSC working groupand Steve Clinch (MAIB) asked if theChairman and Members were content withthis. The main consensus was that theseissues were more likely to be resolved witha collection of people around a table so theChairman confirmed that the MAIB shouldcontinue to direct recommendations to thisGroup.

The above report has been collated from areport from Avald and the minutes of themeeting.

JCB

CONFERENCE SOCIALIt was not all work at the conference.During the day sessions the delegates’wives and partners were escorted to theBluewater shopping complex and shownaround the PLA VTS and simulator by theLondon pilots’ social secretary ‘Hammy’Nixon.

On the Thursday evening a dinner dancewas held for delegates, their partners andinvited guests. Credit for most of theorganising goes to Medway pilot MartinGreen who, along with his partner SueHarrison, ensured that everybody had agood time.

Music was provided by the group P’ZAZand further entertainment was provided byChris (Flash) Flood who enlivened theevening by hosting a ‘stand up’ bingosession which raised just under £800 ForCancer Research and the Kent & Sussexair ambulance charities.

Band P’ZAZ keep the evening lively.

Conference organiser Martin Green and hispartner Sue Harrison receive gifts of thanks

from ‘Hammy’ Nixon.

London Pilots’ CommitteeChairman Tony Van Vliet promises

not to sing!Medway pilot Chris Flood hosts the stand

up bingo session.

January 2006 8 The Pilot

PENSION NEWSThis is a summary of my presentation givento the UKMPA at their annual conferenceheld in Maidstone in November 2005.

PNPF 2005Last November when I said that we wouldhit the floor running in 2005 I was notmistaken although not all our running wasin straight lines and occasionally we ran incircles and sometimes it felt like we weredisappearing up the proverbial. 2005 hasseen meetings, changes and loads oftraining just in case we were getting bored.

Considering the amount of time theTrustees have had to dedicate to the Fundthis year it makes you ask: Who wants tobe a Trustee?

Following Maxwell’s nose dive from hisyacht pension reforms started comingthrough thick and fast in the form of thePensions Act 1995, the Myners’ Review,and the Pension and Finance Acts 2004.The upshot is the role of a scheme trustee in2006 will be unrecognisable from what itwas in 1986 and even 1996. Gone are thedays of meetings only lasting untillunchtime.

During the course of 2005 the Trusteeshave attended 4 quarterly Trustees’meetings, 4 meetings covering thevaluation, investment strategies andtraining, 1 beauty parade and a sub-committee meeting twice to discuss taxsimplification.

In addition to the extra workload, fromApril 2006 the Pensions Act 2004 legallyrequires Trustees to know and understandthe law relating to pensions and trusts,general funding and investment principles,as well as being conversant with schemedocumentation. Failure to do so couldresult in personal liability.

In relation to the Fund the Trustees willbe required to be conversant with the TrustDeed and Rules; the Statement ofInvestment Principles; The Statement ofFunding Principles; the Annual Report andAccounts and the Scheme booklets.

In addition they must have appropriateknowledge and understanding of the lawrelating to pensions and trusts; theprinciples of funding occupational pensionschemes; and the principles of investing theassets of occupational pension schemes.

To assist in this The Pensions Regulator(TPR) is issuing a Code of Practice settingout the parameters of knowledge andunderstanding involved.

Tax SimplificationOne of the subjects exercising the minds ofthe trustees this year was tax simplification.After much deliberations the measures the

trustees have decided to adopt, from 6April 2006, are as follows:

Additional Voluntary ContributionsFrom April 2006 the trustees have

decided to only offer the Open MarketOption to members deciding to take all orpart of their AVCs as an annuity. Thismeans the ability to purchase an additionalpension from the Fund will no longer beavailable.

On the upside, following clarification inthe 2005 Finance Act members can take25% of the value of their benefits fromeach pension arrangement, meaning theAVCs can now be considered together withthe main scheme benefits. In simple termsall AVCs members will be able to take atleast 25% of their AVC fund as cash, andpossibly all of it, to the extent that it is nomore than 25% of the total value ofbenefits provided through the Fund.

Lifetime Allowance (LTA)This has been touched on previously but

in order to determine whether memberswill require Enhanced or PrimaryProtection Aon Consulting are carrying outan exercise to determine which membersmay have benefits in excess of the currentLTA, or may exceed the LTA should theycontinue to NRA.

In addition active members have beensent, by the Secretariat, a form forcompletion to ensure that all your benefitsare taken into account when calculating thetotal value of your benefits.

Pension Commencement Lump Sum(PCLS)

I do not know why the powers that befelt the need to change the name of the tax-free cash sum, maybe they thought theInland Revenue would leave it alone if thetook away the words tax-free.

Members will now be able to take 25%of the total value of their benefits as a lumpsum, although it is not really 25% that isjust to confuse you. The maximum cashsum can be expressed as:

Pre Commutation Pension x 20 x 1020 + (3 x 10) (10 being the Fund’scommutation factor).

This sum must not exceed:

º (PCLS + (Residual Pension x 20).

This is after all simplification!

Five Year GuaranteeThis remains the same but will now be

known as a Defined Benefits Lump SumDeath Benefit.

Flexible RetirementThe Trustees have agreed to allow

members to draw their PNPF benefitswhilst remaining in pilotage, with the

proviso that no future benefits will accruein the PNPF and your CHAs agreementwould be necessary to avoid any manpowerissues.

Children’s PensionsChildren’s pensions that become payable

after 06.04.2006 will have an upper agelimit of 23 if remaining in full-timeeducation this has been reduced down fromage 25 currently permitted under the Rules.

PNPF RulesTwo changes in PNPF Rules arising fromthe Valuation were effected in June 2005. Anew Rule 14(4) allows the Trustees to seekadditional funding from an employed portshould they cease to have PNPF pilots andwish to cease participating in the PNPF tocover the CHAs portion of the deficit. Thesecond is a new Rule 19(3) whichapportions a member’s service between thepre 01.08.05 and post 01.08.05 retirementages.

Pensions Act 2004Key provisions of the Pensions Act 2004came into force on 6 April 2005.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) wasestablished.

The Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS)was established.

The pensions Regulator (TPR) wasestablished in place of OPRA.

New minimum compulsory increases inpensions in payment for service after 6April 2005 will be the lesser of 2.5% or theincrease in the Retail Price Index. (This hasnot been adopted by the Trustees).

Armageddon (not the end of the World)A recent survey carried out by YouGov onaround 2200 people showed that while16% knew A-Day referred to the newpension tax simplification regime, around11% thought it was the day the worldwould end. A further 46% thought A-Daystood for Armistice Day and 19% said itwas the day A-Level results were published.

Communication is obviously not thepensions’ media forte!

Debbie MartenDebbie@pnpf.co.uk

RetirementsAugust 2005 to October 2005J Boisson Liverpool SeptGB Kent Falmouth JulyM Pengelly Liverpool JulyRP Sloane Tyne AugCR Wall Bristol Sept

The Pilot 9 January 2006

T&TThe T&T Committee held its 61st meetingrecently in London and with some newfaces and new ideas we all agreed we shouldbe keeping you all informed of the work wedo and be seeking feedback from all ourreaders, active and retired.

AIS/ELECTRONIC CHARTSAt first glance this may be considered two

separate subjects but the two are becomingmore interlinked as Integrated BridgesSystems, IBS, are becoming more commonon the vessels we see visiting our Ports.

The Tees and Southampton Pilots joinedforces in July 2003 to carry out a surveyinto the use of AIS onboard vessels. You willrecall that it became mandatory that by theend of 2004 all ships over 300 grt had tohave Class A AIS equipment installed. Thesurvey showed quite conclusively that littleor no training had been given to the shipsnavigating officers into how the systemshould be used.

We are now nearly three years on andwhat training have Pilots received in the useof this equipment? The original concept ofAIS was as an alternative to radar andperhaps it is time to ask if we, as aprofession, are making the most of theinformation the AIS provides?

An extract from the GLA’s JointNavigational Requirements Policy (2005)issued by Trinity House states that:

AIS provides the operator withinformation from another source requiringa minimum involvement of ship’s personnel,thereby improving the safety of navigation.AIS assists in the efficient operation of:

Ship to ship operationShip reportingVTS ApplicationsCollision avoidanceAids to navigationSearch and Rescue by providing ship

identification; automatic broadcast of ship’sdynamics’ voyage related data and thetransmission of safety information.

The future potential of AIS should not beunder estimated. The AIS display outperforms radar as a VTS navigational andanti collision tool. However, there are anumber of issues still to be resolved, mainlycompletion of performance evaluation in abusy traffic environment andinteroperability of equipment.

On vessels with IBS in which the AIS isintegrated into the radars and electroniccharts are we totally happy with what weare seeing? Can we tell the differencebetween AIS acquired targets and ARPAacquired targets? How are the radarmanufacturers presenting this informationto the user? IMO have a training coursespecifically modelled for training on

ECDIS/AIS. IMO Model Course 1.27 is aone week course aimed at providingtraining in basic theory and use of ECDISwhile ensuring the student has a goodunderstanding of how AIS works and itslimitations.

PORTABLE PILOT UNITSNot everyone likes the term Portable Pilot

Unit, or PPU, as it may be misconstrued bysome as a ‘Pilot in a box’. In Europe suchequipment is referred to as Port OperationAnd Docking Systems, POADS. Whatever itis called there are some Ports around thecountry that are using such equipment inone form or other. The type of equipmentused and the information it is providing willobviously be subject to the requirements ofeach individual District. If your District isthinking of going down this route then youmay be able to save yourselves time andeffort by contacting one of the following:

Milford Haven:Ed Neale: edward.neale1@ntlworld.comSouthampton:Phil Ratcliffe: phil.ratcliffe2@virgin.netTees:Colin Pratt: colin.pratt@tiscali.co.uk

who may be able to offer you the benefit oftheir experiences in trialling and using suchequipment.

The growing use of such equipment,particularly in the USA, has inevitablyraised liability issues and this was thesubject of an article in October’s issue of thePilot based on a presentation by the GeneralCounsel to the American Pilots Associationat the Canadian Pilots Conference earlier inthe year.

RNLIThe Committee enjoys an excellent

working relationship with the RNLI and wewelcomed John Nurser to his first meeting,John has taken over from Keith Thatcherwho is retiring at the end of the year. Johnbrought the meeting up to date ondevelopments with seat design. The RNLIhave been working on a new seatingarrangement to replace the KAB seats. Thenew equipment does not ‘bottom out’ asquickly as the KAB thereby reducing impacton the body. Trials indicated that the bodywould have to be subject to a forceequivalent to 13 times gravity for the seat tobottom out. John gave the meeting a veryinformative presentation on the develop-ment of the Tamar class lifeboat, which usesthe seat, and entered Operational servicewith the RNLI on 8 December 2005. Otherfast boat operators are showing interest inthe design.

EMPA The ETCS project is now completed and

will be available shortly in PDF. Thefinished article is currently with the EU.Now that work is completed EMPA have

renamed the Group Research &Development and its first task is to reviewall the current EMPA recommendations. Wehave offered to look at all those relating toPilot Boarding & Landing based on theexpertise we have with this subject.

We hope this will be the first in a regularslot in The Pilot and should you have anycomments please let me know.

Gareth ReesEmail: dcg.rees@ntlworld.com

Note - Brian Wilson has produced acomprehensive CD with the followingtopics detailed:

1. Bridge Resource Management forMarine pilots Reference Doc. - Thisdocument is a model course syllabus, whichwill appear in the reference guide to ETCS.It is designed to cover all aspects as requiredby IMO A960.2. EMBARC - Report on VTM for MarNIS 3. Guide to Good Practice - March 2002the workings of the PMSC.4. IMO Draft AIS syllabus - This has beenincluded as a self- teach tool for those of uswho feel left out in the development of AID.Note: this is a draft only, but quite good.5. MarNIS 411.2 - is work package 4.2 forwhich EMPA are the leaders off.6. Revision of IMO A485 A960 - This is theIMO resolution on Pilotage and pilottraining. 7. “Common sense should prevail withelectronic charts”. - An American article onthe use off and warnings off using ECTISetc.8. ESMARALDA - the latest to come fromEurope, fronted by the European HarbourMasters Committee, which in my view, hassome very serious flaws and is very bad forpilotage and pilots.9. IPPA Project - was the test bed for PPUs.It will form part of WP 4.2 in MarNIS.10. MGN 180 Review - The new proposedMGN on VTS. 11. The Boarding and Landing of Pilots270405 - This is the latest version of thecode as written by the T&TC and adoptedby the UKMPA, EMPA & IMPA.12. Dow MarNIS Version 9.02 - the WholeMarNIS project. All 200+ pages off it.13. ETCS - The code and guidelines.14. Marine Pilotage National OccupationalStandards - The electronic version of theBPIT document which the UKMPA played amajor part in, and has recently arrived onthe PSSL web page?15. PMSC Sea Change for Port Safety - TheDfT review of the PMSC last year. This isinteresting reading and shows an incite intoeach ports submission. 16. PMSC - The Port Marine Safety Code.

To obtain a copy of this CD please send alarge SAE to: Brian Wilson,6 Bradford Heights, Carrickfergus,Co. Antrim, N. Ireland. BT38 9EB

Jim CallaghanI was saddened to find that nobody had bothered to comment onthe passing of our past President Jim Callaghan. I supposed thatbigger fish than I would oblige. I cannot say that as an ExecutiveCommittee member “Jim and I” were an item but it was my firstexperience of meeting a real politician. Jim Callaghan liked being

our President and helped the UKPA in more ways than one andprobably the most important use of his influence was to do with thePilots National Pension Fund. The PNPF was in its infancy and theInland Revenue was loath to concede that pilots could have anypension scheme except a private self-employed fund. We argued,rightfully, with the Letch Agreement in mind, that althoughtechnically self-employed we did not have control of our income inthe true self-employed sense.

Stalemate ensued until, I believe, a quiet word with Jim seems tohave passed down the line to the Inland Revenue and our claims onincome and taxation were finally allowed. Many pilots, bothretired and working, are in Jim Callaghan’s debt regarding theirpensions.

He was a professional politician in every sense of the word, nodoubt told lies with aplomb and never used one word when twowould do. He was also a smoothie, at one Annual Conference hegreeted each arriving delegate personally, his “Good evening Mrand Mrs Godden” without a prompt will not be forgotten. Howdid he remember who I was - no badges in those days? The UKPAwas fortunate in their choice.

John Godden

I am surprised that you received no input about Lord Callaghan asI thought that others, like Frank Berry, had a fund of information.I thought that you would have received many letters concerning hispilotage involvement because I have many anecdotes. Hisassistance in preventing the “Shell Agreement” in London whereShell wanted to license their own pilots from Sea to Berth was morethan helpful to the London Pilots - Trinity House, as usual, didnothing to help. He was also instrumental in getting the PilotsNational Pension Fund into its present form by intervening anddealing with the Income Tax Authorities and also with TrinityHouse who at the time wanted to retain control.

Dan McMillan

January 2006 10 The Pilot

OBITUARIES

Ronal Fergus Youde(1910 - 2005)

Pilot Ronald Fergus Youde died peacefullyon 14th December 2005, aged 95.

The son of a leading Chester lawyer, hewas born in 1910 and educated at ChesterCathedral Choir School, followed by theKing’s School and HMS Conway. In 1927as a Senior Cadet Captain (HMS Conway)he began what was to prove to be a nine-year apprenticeship in the Liverpool PilotService. During 1932-34 he was released toserve as Fourth Officer in the Far-East tradeof the Blue Funnel Line. He was Licensed inLiverpool as a Third Class Pilot in 1936.The outbreak of the Second World War in1939 saw him fast-tracked to First Classrank. For his services during the War hewas ultimately granted, as were all servingpilots of the time, the honorary Freedom ofthe City of Liverpool – an honour which hegreatly appreciated.

In 1945 he was elected to the LiverpoolPilotage Committee and also to the Chairof the Liverpool Pilots’ Association,holding both offices for twenty-five yearsuntil relinquishing each one in 1970. In1948 he was appointed Appropriated Pilotto Anchor Line Ltd. The vessel in the

photograph is Anchor Line’s Circassiawhich had two sister ships, Cilicia andCaledonia, all operating a monthly linerservice from Liverpool – with much coastalwork to the Clyde and the Bristol Channelwhen in home waters. Together withAnchor Line’s cargo service to USA, he waskept very busy. RF Youde served AnchorLine from 1948 until the withdrawal of itspassenger-service to Bombay in 1964 afterwhich he was appropriated to Shaw Savill& Albion, from which he retired in 1975.

Following this he served as a Trustee ofthe Pilots’ National Pension Fund,eventually relinquishing that post in 1993,aged eighty-three. If the holding ofprofessional office is to be seen as a prize, itmay safely be said that RF Youde swept theboard of all the prizes available to any pilotof his generation.

His leadership was by example and hewas a man of few words. It was sometimessaid that he could say more with his mouthshut than with his mouth open – and hefrequently did so with devastating effect.He could not suffer any fool. He inheritedhis father’s incisive legal mind and had no

RF Youde on the bridge of RMS Circassiaof Anchor Line, about 1960.

The Pilot 11 January 2006

difficulty in recognising any aspect ofpilotage law. On behalf of pilots in the1950s he was one of the leading figures insecuring the Agreement of Sir Robert Letch(the “Letch Agreement”) in relation toconditions of service. By the authority ofthe Secretary of State. This Agreementstands to the present day as a precedentbenchmark for the benefit of pilots and allothers concerned with the organisation ofshipping at national level. More locally, asa member of the Liverpool PilotageCommittee, he was the pilot most closelyassociated with the generally unpopulartask of de-commissioning the traditionalsea-keeping pilot-cutters, on the grounds ofexpense, and replacing them with a shore-based launch-service. He never courtedpopularity in any way and the fact that heachieved any of his aims at all wasattributable solely to his unfailing (ifsometimes blunt) civility.

Beyond his rather lonely professionalexterior, family farming connections as achild had instilled in him a love of thecountryside and a respect for any goodsporting horseman. He had been a keensporting oarsman when at the King’sSchool in the early 1920s, in stark contrastof style to the working-boat oarsman whichhe was soon obliged to become as apilotage apprentice. Any further interest insport, however, remained general ratherthan specific and he was never known totake mere physical exercise of any kind atall. Even golf was anathema to him. All hislife, on the other hand, he was anenthusiastic and hard-working gardener, asharp humorist, a good bridge-player and aladies’ man. He married Mary Lloyd Evansin 1936 and they became the loving parentsof two sons. He was a loving and much-loved husband, father, grandfather andgreat-grandfather. He remained physicallyactive and mentally razor-sharp to the end,having made many friends in later life andearning the accolade “Everybody’sGrandfather” in doing so.

After being widowed in 1980 he livedwith Connie Miller, sister of Pilot Cyril

James Miller, his former “Conway Chum”.His entire life was devoted to pilotage andhis family. Pilotage has lost a good friend.The loss to his family is much the greater.

Barrie Youde

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

John Michael Leney

Mike, the oldest of three children, was bornand brought up in Bolton, his father beinga local dental surgeon. He attended thelocal primary and grammar schools beforetransferring to St Columba College inDublin.

In 1951 at the age of 16 he joined HMSConway leaving in 1953 to join The AngloSaxon Petroleum Company (later renamedShell Tankers). He finished ‘serving histime’ in 1956 and on obtaining his SecondMates certificate joined Esso with whom heremained for the rest of his sea goingservice being appointed relief master in1968.

He joined the Milford Haven PilotageService in August 1970 being appointed aVLCC pilot in 1973. Mike served on thelocal pilots’ committee and was itschairman 1988/89.

He was elected to the UKPA national

committee in 1989 becoming its chairmanin 1994 and remaining so until ill-healthforced him to retire from active pilotage in1997.

In April of that year Mike had asuccessful quadruple by-pass operation andenjoyed good health but was back inhospital in 2004 for a new knee and wasdue to have a hip replacement early thisyear. He bore these illnesses with grace andgood fortitude retaining his fine sense ofhumour throughout.

Mike had other interests apart frompilotage. He was a keen non acting memberof the local operatic society, being stagemanager for many productions and wasrewarded by being appointed an honorarylife member, this was an interest sharedwith his wife Anne who is currentlyPresident of the Society. He was a pastmember of the local Lions and set up thePembrokeshire Branch of the Institute ofAdvanced Motorists.

More recently, with the development ofLNG terminals at Milford, Mike, a man ofgreat integrity, was to the forefront inpublicly voicing concerns regarding theirsiting adjacent to the main navigationalchannel with associated risks.

His sudden death on 21st December atthe age of 70 came as a shock to all whoknew him and indeed, due to his exposurelocally on the foregoing safety ofnavigation issues for which he was muchrespected, to the wider public inPembrokeshire.

Mike is survived and will be sorelymissed by his wife Anne, son Christopher,daughter in law Cathy and much lovedgrandchildren Tom and Emma. He will alsobe missed by his many friends in pilotageand from his other interests.

Ian Evans

RMS Circassia on sea trials in the Clyde, 1936.

Pensioners Deceased–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

August 2005 - October 2005–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––JS Anderson Milford HavenJA Clarke London-ThamesEM Davies LiverpoolG Hall HumberCD Morgan SE WalesDW McCallum ClydeWA Ray SillothJM Rodgers London-NorthJA Smit HumberWE Smith SE WalesA Stathers HumberRL Stenner BristolM Tinmouth TyneMW Young Tees

January 2006 12 The Pilot

Pilot GandalfSir,

I was recently sent a copy of letter whichappeared in your magazine from PilotGandalf. I thought this a fantastic fairytale,which could only be the product of a mindoperating beyond reason in an etherealworld of fantasy.

Sceptical as to the truth of the matter, thenecessary urge came upon me to enquirelocally to see if anyone knew of these pilotswho had journeyed beyond Middle Earthto the Kingdom of Aotearoa, in which laysthe sleepy container terminal of theaforementioned Hobbitsville.

To my amazement I found that therewere two such souls from the district ofwhich Pilot Gandalf speaks and their questto find the ‘Land In Which A Proper PortMarine Safety System Exists’ had beensuccessful. By some magical process thesacred UK Port Marine Safety Code hadreached these shores in advance of thesemen and by some equally mysteriousmethod it had been implemented. Theresult of this is that there exist Ports in theKingdom of Aotearoa where writtenpilotage procedures are normal practiceand Bridge Resource Management (BRM)concepts are thought of as more than just‘a nice idea’.

When those pilots arrived on theseshores, MNZ, the Great God of MaritimeAdministration threatened to cast them outlest they obtain the contents of the chaliceof BRM and thence be anointed throughthe process of Advanced Marine PilotTraining. And it was made so by the Portswhich had taken these travellers unto theirbosoms.

The Ports do fear MNZ? Not so, forindeed He is for the most part benevolentin His ways, such that the Ports can workwith Him and an understanding throughinformed debate is reached. Do the bigMarine Customers, travelling from farlands in their sky blue craft, act like crazedtrolls, baulking at the prospect of a littleextra time and expense caused by theslightly more onerous practices andprocedures? Indeed they do not, sincebeing far more enlightened than manyPorts, they value the ability to show thatall that it is reasonably practicable to do toenhance safe navigation is being done. Allseem focussed on that strange sorcery thatis professionalism and they use it againstthe darker forces of politics andcommercialism in order not to destroythem as enemies, but to co-exist in anequitable bonding of conflicting interests.

Surely this Kingdom of Aotearoa is theembodiment of a maritime Utopia?

Regrettably the answer is no, for there canbe no perfection. Mistakes are made, faultfound, blame allocated and sanctionsimposed. But increasingly the contents ofthe BRM chalice are being spreadthroughout the land, and the shortcomingsof the mariner are being considered in thelight of systemic error theory and humanfactors.

It would seem that the sacred ‘UK PortMarine Safety Code’ has been recognisedin the colonies and acted upon far morediligently than in the motherland.

Best regards Kiwi Muppet

❋ ❋ ❋

Letter from the past editor!Without a doubt acronymic mania hasinvaded the world and the maritimeadministrators have not been left behind.Not to be outdone our Editor has latchedon to this trait with a vengeance and thelast two issues of The Pilot werehumdingers. As a grey-beard and ex-editorof the magazine I reckon he saved about 2pages by using the dreaded acronym.

But is he missing a trick? I know he iswonderfully computer literate and I’m sureis a wiz kid at text messaging. Combine thetwo and The Pilot could become a minitabloid and save all the large envelopes!We could even have a text greetingscolumn, on my behalf my grandchildrensuggested: “It wz gd 2 hear my mate I.E.frm MH(rtd) is stil wth us. Yak e da tafThe recipient will instantly understandthis!

To help the elderly could the Editoreither spell out the acronym when firstmentioned or give us an acronymicdictionary on the back page.

John Godden

Oh dear, wrists well and truly sore fromthis! It is always difficult to decide whichacronyms to spell out and which can beleft. I generally assume that the commonmaritime ones such as MCA, MAIB etc areknown to all our readers but some, whichare recognized by working pilots such asPMSC (Port Marine Safety Code) andNOS (National Occupational Standards)may be less recognized by retired pilots. Ipromise to be more considerate in thefuture. This does of course mean that theremay be less space for my words of wisdom!Did I hear “thank goodness for that”??

JCB

❋ ❋ ❋

Pensioner Representative on the PNCPAs the Pilots National Committee forPensions has now been voted out by theResolution at the 2004 Conference, the

position of Pensioners Representative isdefunct. The Pilot Trustees on the PilotsNational Pension Committee stated thatthey can look after the interests of all pilotsand pensioners, so it is time for me toaccept that my position is no longerrequired.

In resigning as Pensioners Representativeand in the light of Joe Wilson’s letter in theApril 2005 Pilot I need to make certainpoints clear :-

1. There are now very few of the oldstalwarts left who are aware of thefight with the Pilotage Authorities, andin particular Trinity House, to start thePNPF. Do the present day pilots know(or really care) about the threats thatwere made to some of the morevociferous pilots and the problems thatwere caused by the later entry of someAuthorities, such as Liverpool - whichcaused and is still causing anomalies insome pensions.

2. There can be no retrospectivelegislation without a change in the Act

3. The use of money from the PNPF toreduce the number of pilots in 1988/9was not legal and should any futureattempt be made to “pay off” pilotsthen full legal advice should beobtained.

4. The money in the Pension Fundbelongs to the pilots not theShipowners or Port Authorities. It wasa negotiated part of the pilot’s earnings,I know because I was involved. Thefact that certain pilots and trustees didnot, or chose not to understand is amatter which should not have beenallowed to happen.

5. The Pilot Trustees are enthusiastic butthey should remember Courses andSeminars cannot replace experience.The best experience is not justattending meetings. As for the PNPFSecretariat they provide an excellentservice but as with the trustees theymust remember the Latin saying: Sedquis custodiet ipsos custodes, whichloosely translated means “who shallwatch the watchers” and that is whatthe PNCP did.

Dan McMillan

REMEMBERIt is in your interest,

if involved in any accident or injury,however trivial it may seem at the

time, to inform:

Circle Insurances ServicesWITHIN 30 DAYS

The Pilot 13 January 2006

MARINE PILOTS GOLFING SOCIETYThe 30th meeting of the Society took place in early September at Cave Castle golf and hotel complex Nr Hull. Thirty two golferstook part from Milford Haven, Manchester, Bristol, Tees, Tyne, Clyde, Form, Sullom Voe and Ex Humber. Played in gloriousweather winners were:

Manchester Salver:M Cramond, Forth

Wilmslow Cup:J Myers & C Thompson,Ex Humber

Hawkstone Cup:G Hill, Bristol

Pilots Cup:J Myers

Milford Haven Cup:M Cramond

Jim Purvis Shield:I Leask, Sullom Voe

Nearest Pin:P Ryder, Milford Haven

The Great Port of BristolOnce again Snowbow have managed to compile ahigh quality collection of film footage recalling thegolden age of British shipping. In this episode thefocus is on the port of Bristol. Starting with someremarkably high quality film from the early 20thcentury one is immediately taken back into an erawhere all cargo was manhandled and all the dockswere bustling with human activity. The many andvaried cargoes and companies are all identified aswell as the ship yard of Charles Hill and Son. Inmore recent times the ships of the1950’s -1970’sare very well documented with film from twoenthusiastic ship spotters, Ray Perry and the lateJohn Norton. Thanks to them we can now enjoyan endless stream of ships entering the river andthe locks of Avonmouth and Portbury. From apilotage point of view these clips provide a clearindication as to the considerable skills employedby the pilots on the tricky winding river withsome impressive tidal flows.

To supplement the nostalgia, the DVD also contains an up to date tour of the Avon onboard the 1935 tug John King which was built in the Charles Hill yard and is now preserved by theBristol Industrial Museum as a “living” exhibit providing day trips throughout the year. There isalso contempory footage of the ships and trades of Portbury and Avonmouth.

JCB

Episode 25 of the “Great Liners” series The Great Port of Bristolis available in video or DVD formats from the Snowbow website: www.snowbow.co.uk or:

145 The promenade, Peacehaven, E. Sussex BN10 7HN. Tel/ credit card order line: 01273 585391.The cost of the video is £16.95 (DVD £17.95) plus 1.00 P&P

MARITIME MEMORIES CRUISESThese cruises are becoming increasingly popular due to their being organised by seafarers for seafarers. Full details can be

obtained from the website: www.maritime-memories.com or e-mail: snowbow.productions@virgin.net Tel: 00 44 (0)1273 585391or www.snowbow.co.uk

The spring meeting for 2006 is on Sunday 23rd April / Monday 24th 2006.The annual three day meeting will take place at Mytton Fold Blackburn Lanes as usual in early September 2006

All pilots are welcome to participate. Please contact Peter Ryder for further details:Peter Ryder, 10 Lighthouse Drive, Llanstadwell, Milford Haven SA73 1EF. Email: chrisryder@onetel.net.uk

January 2006 14 The Pilot

THE LAW OF INDEPENDENCEThe law protects the independent standingOf pilots for the common public good -A principle of world-wide understandingAnd honour for an ancient Brotherhood.

A pilot’s independence is well-stated.He holds no brief for any man at all.To see his ship is safely navigated:By that alone, his lot will stand or fall.

He knows that seniority and folk-loreAre meaningless devices which will fail,For lack of power, when trying to invoke

law,To put a serving pilot into jail.

A cart-horse at a gallop has been driven,Through many local, ill-considered rules.The way is always clear for men of vision -If fog-bound for a few officious fools.

A pilot has a sound appreciationOf power; and where it exists or not.Without it, he confronts his limitations,In super-tanker, ship or private yacht

Stupidity, alas, is far from finished:But truth remains, by Statute Law and plan.A pilot’s status yet is undiminished.A pilot is an independent man.

His independence is his inspiration.It drives him, as his ancestors before.A thousand generations now of pilotsHave reason to salute the civil law.

Upon the bridge no devilment can bribe him.Alone he acts upon his visual scan.And that is why the law has thus described

him:-“A pilot is an independent man.”

Let pilots laugh at nonsense on the rampage!The law has shown since Magna Carta ran,A pilot has one very clear advantage:-He knows he is an independent man.

Barrie Youde

January 2006 14 The Pilot

THE PILOTPublished by United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’ Association

(A Section of the Transport & General Workers Union)Transport House, 128 Theobald’s Road, Holborn, London WC1X 8TN

Tel: (020) 7611 2570/71 Fax: (020) 7611 2757 Email: ukmpa@tgwu.org.ukWebsite: www.ukmpa.org

President Lord Tony BerkeleyHonorary vice-Presidents

Messrs F Berry, OBE, DI McMillan, T Morgan, C Wilkin, OBENational Secretary

Graham Stevenson 128 Theobald’s Road, Holborn, London WC1X 8TNChairman of the Section Committee

Les Cate 35 Elmcroft Place, Westergate, Chichester, W Sussex PO20 3XL (01243) 544428Email: cateles@hotmail.com

Secretary/TreasurerJ Pretswell 13 Ladylands Terrace, Selkirk, TD7 4BB (01750) 21173

Email: john@pretswell.fsnet.co.ukSection Committee

J Wilson 34 The Orchard, Broom Hill, Ingelby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees TS17 5NAEmail: joe.99@btinternet.com Tel/Fax: (01642) 750395

D Cockrill 29 Edith Road, Faversham, Kent ME13 8SD (01795) 537310Email: don.cockrill@tesco.net

D Devey Brackenwood, Altami Road, Buckley, Flint CH7 3PG (01244) 540775Email: davedevey@liverpoolpilots.freeserve.co.uk

P Haysom 9 The Street, Blundeston, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 5AA (01502) 731356Email: paul@haysom.co.uk

John Pearn The Grange, Hill Mountain, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire SA73 1NA (01646) 601556Email: john@pearn.co.uk

P Wylie 48 Fox Howe, Coulby Newham, Middlesborough, TS8 0RUEmail: peter.wylie@ntlworld.com

Chairman, Technical & Training Committee G Rees 2 Benenden Green, Alresford. Hampshire SO24 9OF (01962) 733075

Email: dcg.rees@ntlworld.comEuropilots Representative

Captain CJA Hughes Tumblehome, 5 Orchard Close, Felton, North Somerset BS40 9YSEmail: chairman@europilots.org.uk

Auditors – Hawdon Bell & Company, North ShieldsEditor of ‘The Pilot’ – John Clandillon-Baker (01304) 613020Secretary – Monica Brown 020 7611 2571 • Email: mobrown@tgwu.org.ukPNPF – Debbie Marten Tel: (01732) 779460 • Fax: (01732) 779464

The views expressed in letters, articles and advertising in “The Pilot” magazine are those of theirauthors and do not necessarily reflect those of the UKPMA.

Visit the PILOT magazine website at: www.pilotmag.co.uk

NELSONFUNERALRE-ENACTMENTThe Nelson Funeral re-enactmentwas held on the Thames on 16thSeptember 2005. Several pilots andretired pilots attended this eventand shown here are First Sea LordSir Alan West with L-R

Nick Cutmore, IMPA SecretaryGeneral, Leonard Fenner Retd.(London TH North Channel &PLA), Peter Widd (TH & PLA),Peter Russell Retd.( London THCinque Ports & PLA) and NormanKnowles Retd. (London THCinque Ports)

The Pilot 15 January 2006

January 2006 16 The Pilot

District Name Address and Telephone Number

Aberdeen . . . . . . PG Williams . . . . . . Aberdeen Harbour Pilots, North Pier, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire 01224 597000 x 7113 (O)

Barrow . . . . . . . . Graham John Wood Sea Mill, New Biggin, Ulverston, Cumbria LA12 0RJ 01229 869261 (O)

Belfast . . . . . . . . . W Esler Esq . . . . . . “Ramoyle”, 17 Corran Manor, Larne, Co. Antrim BT40 1BH 028 905 53504 (O)

Boston . . . . . . . . . R Williamson . . . . . Boston Pilot’s Association, Boston Dock, Boston, Lincs, PE21 6BN 01205 362114 (O)

Bridgwater . . . . . PH Lee . . . . . . . . . . 1 Grove Road, Burnham on Sea, Somerset, TA8 2HG 01278 782180 (H)

Bristol . . . . . . . . . Capt A Wymark . . . ‘Hinakura’ Greyfield Road, High Littleton, Bristol BS39 6XX Email: awymark@clara.co.uk 01761 470601 (H) 07753 692626 (M)

Clyde . . . . . . . . . . David Blair . . . . . . . 4 Sandringham Terrace, Esplanade, Greenock, PA16 7XL Email: dbb@quista.net 01475 724822 (H) 07719 676206 (M)

Cowes . . . . . . . . . SJ Hocknull . . . . . . Hunters Way, Binstead Hill, Ryde, Isle of Wight PO33 3RP 01983 564290

Crouch . . . . . . . . D Enever Esq . . . . . 23 Glebe Way, Frinton on Sea, Essex CO13 9HR 01255 677330

Dartmouth . . . . . D White . . . . . . . . . Sunny Bank, West Town Meadow, Bishopsteignton, TQ14 9SF 01626 772034

Dover . . . . . . . . . . Nigel Stokes . . . . . . Dover Harbour Board, Harbour House, Dover, Kent CT17 9BU 01304 240400 Ext 4522 Fax: 01304 225992 (O)

Dundee . . . . . . . . S Campbell . . . . . . . Burnside house, Roundy Hill, By Glamis, Dundee, DD8 1QD 01575 575530

Europilots . . . . . . Capt CJA Hughes . . Tumblehome, 5 Orchard Close, Felton, North Somerset BS40 9YS Email: chairman@europilots.org.uk

Falmouth . . . . . . Phil Bush . . . . . . . . 42 Old Well Gardens, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9LF 01326 377982

Forth . . . . . . . . . . Robert Watt . . . . . . Maryville, Glasgow Road, Bathgate, West Lothian EH48 2QR Email: r.m.watt@btinternet.com 01506 636682

Fowey . . . . . . . . . C Wood . . . . . . . . . The Secretary, The Pilot Office, Par Harbour, Par, PL24 2BD Email: charlie@.foweypilots.com 01726 815929

Gloucester . . . . . CR Merry . . . . . . . . Martins, Lancelot Court, Churchend, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BL Email: carl@merryc.freeserve.co.uk 01453 890726

Haven Ports(Harwich) . . . . . . Ian R Simpson . . . . Haven Pilots Secretary, c/o Harbour House, The Quay, Harwich, Essex CO12 3HH

Heysham . . . . . . . Capt J Millross . . . . Sandside Cottage, Fluke Hall Lane, Pilling, Preston, Lancs PR3 6HP 01253 790058

Humber . . . . . . . . D Fortnum . . . . . . Humber Pilots, c/o 41 School Lane, Kirk Ella, Hull HU10 7NP dave@humberpilots.karoo.co.uk 01482 627755 (O) Fax 01482 671700

Inverness . . . . . . Capt K Maclean . . . “Corsten”, 12 Beaufort Road, Inverness, IV2 3NP 01463 715715 (O)

King’s Lynn . . . . R Havercroft . . . . . . King’s Lynn Conservancy Board, Harbour Office, Common Staith, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE30 1LL 01553 671697 (H)

Lerwick . . . . . . . . N McLean . . . . . . . Kinnoull, Levenwick, Shetland, ZE2 9HZ 01950 422387

Liverpool . . . . . . D Boardman . . . . . . Liverpool Pilotage Services Ltd, 4 Woodside Business Centre, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH41 1EH 0151 949 6811

Londonderry . . . DP McCann . . . . . . (Foyle Pilots), Upper Road, Shrove, Greencastle, Co Donegal, Ireland 00 353 7781036 (H)

London . . . . . . . . NT Lee . . . . . . . . . . 21 Park avenue, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 1QY 01795 559545 (H)

Lowestoft . . . . . . RD Mountney Esq . 17 Foxborough Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 4SN 01502 516242

Manchester . . . . . JC Mahoney . . . . . . Manchester Pilots Ltd, Queen Elizabeth II Dock, Eastham, Wirral, Cheshire CH62 0BB 0151 327 1233 (O)

Medway . . . . . . . . S Nichols . . . . . . . . 2 James Close, Lyminge, Folkestone, Kent CT18 8NL Email: selwyn_nichols@hotmail.com 01303 862946

Milford Haven . . John Pearn . . . . . . . The Grange, Hill Mountain, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire SA73 1NA Email: john@pearn.co.uk 01646 601556

Orkney . . . . . . . . IJ Waters Esq . . . . . Lansdowne, 25 Royal Oak Road, Kirkwall, Orkney KW15 1RF 01856 875237

Perth . . . . . . . . . . I Henderson . . . . . . 34 Lorne Crescent, Monifieth, Dundee, DD5 4DZ

Peterhead . . . . . . GD Geyton . . . . . . . 43 Blackhorse Terrace, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire AB42 1LQ 01779 474281 (O)

Poole . . . . . . . . . . Brian Murphy . . . . . The Pilot Office, The Quay, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1HA Email: brianmurphy@phc.co.uk 01202 666401 (O)

Portsmouth . . . . P Fryer . . . . . . . . . . 21 Montserrat Road, Lee on the Solent, Hants PO13 9LT 02392 297395 (O)

Scilly Isles . . . . . . J Phillips . . . . . . . . . Rose Cottage, The Strand, St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall TR21 0PT 01720 422066

Shoreham . . . . . . Dave MacVicar . . . . The Pilotage Service, c/o Shoreham Port Authority, The Harbour Office, Albion St, Southwick, Brighton, BN42 4ED 01273 592366 (O)

Southampton . . . Capt P Lewis . . . . . . West Creek, Woodside, Wootton Bridge, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 4JW 01983 883143 (H)

Sullom Voe . . . . . J Leslie Esq . . . . . . . “Cliona”, 4 Lovers Loan, Lerwick, Shetland 01595 695856 (H)

Swansea,inc Port Talbot . . . GP Harris . . . . . . . . c/o ABP Harbour Office, King’s Dock, Swansea, SA1 1QR 01656 662608 (H)

South East Wales WP Barnes . . . . . . . Verber, Victoria Park Road, Cadoxton, Barry, S Glamorgan 01446 742637

Tees,inc Hartlepool . . . . Mr Peter Wylie . . . . 48 Fox Howe, Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough, TS8 0RU 01642 595147

Teignmouth . . . . M Swallow . . . . . . . 22 Livingstone Road, Teignmouth, Devon TQ14 8NL 01626 774902

Tyne . . . . . . . . . . There is no appointed Secretary. Communication should therefore be to:Tyne Pilots Ltd, Pilot Watch House, Lawe Rd, South Shields, S. Tyneside NE33 2AH Email: tyne.pilots@virgin.net Tel: 01914 555656 Fax: 01914 566514

Weymouth . . . . . PM Runyeard . . . . . 14 Netherton Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8SB 01305 773118

Wisbech . . . . . . . B Knight . . . . . . . . . 29 New Road, Sutton Bridge, Lincs PE12 9RA 01406 350838

Gt Yarmouth . . . Paul Haysom . . . . . 9 The Street, Blundeston, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 5AA 01502 731356 (H)

United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’Association

Printed by AR Adams & Sons (Printers) Ltd, Dour Street, Dover, Kent CT16 1EW