EXPERT GUIDES TO We’ve all heard
If , as it’s often said, the British seafarer is
an endangered marine species, Nautilus
member Captain Paul Lanaghan is an
extremely rare breed.
For Capt Lanaghan is one of fewer than 100
deepsea pilots working in the UK and NW
Europe, providing expert advice and assistance
to hard-pressed crews of ships in some of the
world’s most congested and challenging waters.
Today, he’s starting what is set to be a two-week
rotation onboard the 61,775gt car carrier
Cygnus Leader. Boarding the vessel in the port of
Bristol, he’s helping the Indian master and
navigating offi cers through the increasing
number of Channel ‘hotspots’ in some typically
testing autumnal conditions.
Carriage of a deepsea pilot has, since 1981,
been recommended by the International Mari-time
Organization (IMO) on ships transiting the
North Sea, English Channel and Skagerrak.
However, it’s estimated that barely 2.5% of the
80,000 vessels that run through the Dover Straits
each year utilise the pilots’ services.
‘The truth is, there are many owners and
seafarers who don’t even know the service exists
– and then there is the challenge of convincing
them of its value when the commercial aspects
do not jump out fi rst and foremost,’ says Chris
Brooks, from Gravesend-based Deep Sea &
52 SUOMEN MERENKULKU J FINLANDS SJÖFART
Coastal Pilots (DSCP), which has been running
since 1947 and is one of the largest agencies in
Europe.
Capt Lanaghan – who is one of 30 Trinity
House-licenced pilots working through DSCP
– says there are strong economic arguments in
their favour. ‘We can more than pay for ourselves,
as we can prevent or minimise delays to the
vessel through prudent and economical routeing,’
he notes. ‘On a typical voyage we can cut up to 12
hours of sailing time, saving time and bunker fuel
costs.’
Indeed, the presence of a deepsea pilot can
reduce the costs of a voyage in the area by as
much as US$13,000 – but it’s the safety case that
should stand out, he stresses. ‘In much of this
area, masters are having to deal with long and
intense periods of navigation with the very
strong possibility of adverse weather in compli-cated
traffi c situations.
‘Then you add into the mix the density of the
traffi c, fi shing vessels and pleasure craft, traffi c
separation schemes and crossing traffi c, tides
and currents, sandbanks and sandwaves,
windfarms and migrant boats, and if you don’t
know the area you can very quickly run into
trouble.’
The Channel and the North Sea aren’t very old
in geological terms, Capt Lanaghan points out,
of deepsea
pilots, but with
many operators
declining to
pay for their
services, we may
not have en-countered
one in
person. Andrew
Linington finds
out what they do
– and why they
should be hired
– on a car
carrier trip with
a Nautilus
member.
Cygnus Leader pictured in the port of Zeebrugge at the end of its passage from Bristol.
IMAGES: ANDREW LININGTON