Safe piloting

Long ships, small spaces

Sam Zapadinsky is a Hudson River pilot in New York. He says: “We’re providing services for ships, tugboats and yachts, going from Yonkers up the Hudson River all the way to the Port of Albany, about a 110-mile stretch of river. The biggest ships we carry are around 200 meters long with a 32-meter beam with a 9.1-meter draft.”

The length of those ships equates to about twice the length between the goal lines of an American Football field and they must be steered through the narrow channel that makes up fifty miles of the Hudson.

“There’s nowhere to anchor and no room for emergency maneuvers,” Zapadinsky explains. “Our waterway is restricted in nature and once you are away from the port of New York you are sometimes eight to 10 hours minimum from having any kind of tug assistance. You're really on your own and that keeps you on your toes. You have to think quickly sometimes to keep the waterways safe.”

Doing the tango

Marie-Claude Laurendeau, a pilot in the Saint Lawrence seaway in Canada faces a similar situation. “We navigate between Montreal and the USA, mostly between locks, very narrow channels and canals,” she says.

“Our biggest challenges are mostly to do with timing because of the small width of the waterways we navigate and the shallowness of the canals. It’s like a big tango dance with the other ships that we have to do everyday. We have to be exactly at the right spot at the right moment for the other ships to pass safely,” Laurendeau explains.

Different everyday

Variety may be the spice of life but it is also demanding. Captain Jason Ledet, a New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association (NOBRA) pilot handles all foreign flagged vessels that come in the lower Mississippi river and transit above New Orleans, Louisiana. He says the biggest challenge he encounters is that every single day is different.

“Working on the Mississippi is not like a lot of ports where you know your job days in advance or the night before. I don’t know what I’m going to do until about three hours prior to beginning work,” Ledet explains. “We see ships of all sizes, bulk cargo tankers; anything you can imagine really. The deepest draft we usually handle is 50 feet.

“I’m constantly on call and rotation,” he says. “I’ll receive a phone call 'hey you got to go here and move this ship.' That affects your sleep, as this could be in the day or night and in all types of weather.”

Planning ahead

Elizabeth Christman is a pilot in Maryland state who works on the Chesapeake navigating the whole 150 miles of the bay, taking shorter trips on its canals, or doing harbor work, transferring ships between berths or shifting from Annopolis anchorage up to Baltimore.

In her view, preparing for her assignments and rotation is key. “You want to make sure you are well-rested and that your PPU is all up to date. We’re always looking at the weather, tides and currents; the things we are going to encounter on our voyage. We plan for those in advance.”

She thinks technology is number one in addressing challenges. “You have to use it correctly and in the way it’s meant to be used. However, we must still look out the window to validate what we see on our PPU. That is one of the most important lessons.”

For Zapadinsky, this technology includes connected devices. “Connected piloting will see servers feeding us more data. In the Hudson we're a little behind other water ways in the use of air gap sensors, as well as real-time buoy and weather information. Continuing to receive increased data and having it displayed on our iPads is something that excites me about evolving technologies. It can help pilots make better informed decisions in less time to help keep everybody safe.”