CHALLENGING CHANNELS
Capt Lanaghan consults his personal pilot unit as the
car carrier Cygnus Leader transits the Channel traffic
separation scheme. IMAGES: ANDREW LININGTON
FINLANDS SJÖFART J SUOMEN MERENKULKU 53
and seafarers need to be very aware of factors like squat
when they pass through the very variable depths in the
area. ‘Meteorological phenomena like low pressures can
delay the tide and reduce the height,’ he adds. ‘This is a
place where you can’t relax and always need to be very
aware and alert.
‘There are also long periods of river pilotage in many
European ports – sometimes upwards of six hours – and
we can really help to relieve the resulting stress and
fatigue faced by masters and officers,’ Capt Lanaghan says.
‘For a master who is unfamiliar with this area, it can be
a daunting task and when combined with any bad weather,
reporting procedures, paperwork, port pilotage, cargo and
port paperwork commitments, it is easy to see how fatigue
can set in and working hour limits potentially breached,’
Mr Brooks adds.
‘We’re familiar with all the various port requirements
and pre-arrival paperwork,’ Capt Lanaghan says, ‘and we
can therefore make sure that all the pre-arrival informa-tion
and communications are correctly dealt with – or
advise the master, for instance, that it might be an idea to
have a tug to help push them alongside in a port like
Zeebrugge during adverse weather.’
In the week before he joins a ship, Capt Lanaghan will
research the vessel and the route – noting the potential
problem areas along the way and looking at the likely
weather conditions. ‘You start to build up a layered
picture, so you know what to expect,’ he explains. ‘You
always need to have a good, viable, Plan B.’
On this voyage, Capt Lanaghan joined Cygnus Leader in
port but he often boards ships from a launch off Brixham
or Cherbourg. Once on the vessel, he will carry out a
master-pilot exchange of around 20 minutes and get a feel
for the ship and crew.
‘Sometimes you can sense a sigh of relief as soon as you
arrive,’ he says. ‘You are often on a ship for a reasonable
period of time and can establish a decent working relation-ship
and build a good level of teamwork.
‘I’ll talk through decisions with the watchkeeping
officer and will tell them they are in charge, that I’m here
to help them and that they should immediately say if I am
doing anything they don’t like,’ he adds. ‘Some cultures
don’t like to challenge you, but it’s all about breaking down
these barriers to get effective bridge management.’
The master and officers onboard Cygnus Leader tell me
how much they appreciate Capt Lanaghan’s presence – in
particular in helping to ease the stresses of paperwork and
intense concentration while visiting so many ports in such
a short space of time. ‘I am very pleased to have a deepsea
pilot onboard,’ says Captain Subra Arumugam. ‘Knowing
there is someone with so much knowledge and experience
of the area makes us all feel more comfortable and takes a
lot of pressure off everyone.’
Capt Lanaghan points out that he clearly can’t be
continuously on the bridge during most of his pilotage
trips and he does not like to go much beyond six hours at a
time. But in preparing for the voyage he identifies the most
challenging points – in this case, going around Land’s End,
entering the TSS, and approaching the Casquets and the
Wandelaar – and will go to the wheelhouse well before the
ship reaches them. He’s also available any time if the
bridge team need his help, and will handle much of the
communication with VTS and coastguards, which helps
seafarers with limited English language skills.
‘You have to adapt to the environment onboard each
ship, and it can be tiring and stressful at times,’ he admits.
‘You learn from experience when you need to be up, and
A
”Fewer than 100 deepsea
pilots work in the UK.”