Land & Sea: Sea harbour pilots

Summary

In this episode of Land & Sea, brought to you by CBC News Nova Scotia, viewers get an in-depth look at the crucial role harbor pilots play in maritime safety along the East Coast. With more than 250 years of history, these pilots are essential in guiding massive container ships safely in and out of complex and often dangerous harbors. Their expertise is instrumental in mitigating risks posed by unpredictable weather, narrow channels, and potential mechanical failures. The program also revisits historical events, such as the tragic Halifax Explosion of 1917, highlighting the constant demand for skill and resilience in this profession.

Highlights

• Learn how pilots expertly guide huge vessels through the bustling, perilous waters of the East Coast. 🌊
• Witness the dangers and heroic efforts of pilots as they keep our harbors safe. 🚤
• Discover historical insights with a retelling of the Halifax Explosion and its connection to harbor pilots. ⚓
• Understand the evolution of piloting amidst advancements in technology and the continuing need for expert navigators. 💻

Key Takeaways

• Sea harbor pilots hold a pivotal role in maritime safety, navigating vessels through challenging waters. 🌊
• Piloting is a centuries-old profession essential for guiding ships in and out of harbors safely. 🚢
• Despite technological advancements, the importance of local knowledge and human decision-making in piloting remains irreplaceable. 🤖
• The Halifax Explosion of 1917 serves as a historical lesson on the significance of skilled piloting. ⚓
• Pilots undergo rigorous training that might take years before achieving full qualification. 🏆

Overview

Welcome aboard! In this thrilling episode of Land & Sea, we're taken on an enlightening journey through the eyes of Nova Scotia's harbor pilots. Known as the guardians of the seas, these dedicated individuals ensure the safe passage of enormous ships through treacherous and unpredictable waters. Their job is as challenging as it is crucial, offering a unique glimpse into one of the nautical world's oldest professions.

We delve into the day-to-day experiences of these fearless pilots, focusing on their impressive responsibility to guide ships amid threats of inclement weather, narrow passages, and environmental challenges. Viewers gain an appreciation of the precision, bravery, and local knowledge required to expertly maneuver vessels like the Atlantic Star safely to their destinations. Through storms and fog, pilots remain unwavering in their mission.

The episode wraps up with a poignant look back at the infamous Halifax Explosion of 1917, examining the pilot's role and the profound impact of such events on maritime history. Despite the passage of time and technological advancements, the core of piloting remains grounded in human skill and experience, reminding us of the bravery behind each successful voyage.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 03:00: Introduction to Harbor Pilots The chapter discusses the role and responsibilities of harbor pilots, emphasizing the importance of their work in ensuring the safety of harbors. It mentions the dangers of the job, such as unexpected weights or challenging conditions, and highlights the rewarding nature of the profession.
• 03:00 - 06:00: The Role and Importance of Harbor Pilots The chapter discusses the historical and ongoing importance of harbor pilots, tracing the profession back to the dawn of exploration. Mariners have always depended on pilots to guide them through unfamiliar waters, a practice that continues on the East Coast, where pilots have been navigating ships for over 250 years. As ships increase in size and technology advances, the role of harbor pilots remains crucial.
• 06:00 - 09:00: A Day in the Life of a Harbor Pilot This chapter provides an inside look into the daily routine of a harbor pilot, Gary O'Donnell, and his crew as they prepare for another day of guiding ships safely in the port of Halifax. Despite advancements in technology making navigation systems smarter, the presence and expertise of pilots remain crucial to port safety and operations. The story begins at 3:30 in the morning, against the backdrop of the Halifax skyline, with the crew preparing to manage an incoming ship, the Manic Star.
• 09:00 - 15:00: Historical Context: The Halifax Explosion The chapter discusses the historical context of the Halifax Explosion, beginning with a conversation about the morning conditions at a pilot station. The dialogue includes details about the wind direction and speed as the pilot boat prepares to leave for the pilot station, located 16 kilometers out to Shabak Towhead. The section sets up the navigational setting relevant to the events surrounding the Halifax Explosion.
• 15:00 - 21:00: The Aftermath and Legacy of the Halifax Explosion The chapter discusses maritime safety regulations implemented in the wake of the Halifax Explosion. It focuses on new rules requiring pilots onboard for large Canadian and foreign ships entering the harbor, exemplified by the journey of the Atlantic Star, a massive container ship. This reflects a broader legacy of the explosion in enhancing navigational protocols to prevent future disasters.
• 21:00 - 27:00: Training and Challenges of Modern-Day Pilots The chapter details the training and challenges that modern-day pilots face, focusing on the dangerous task of boarding a ship. Launch master Sam dolphining explains that getting a pilot on board a moving ship is the most perilous aspect of their job. The pilot has to grab hold of the ship's ladder while both the pilot's boat and the ship are in motion, often in unpredictable open seas. Weather conditions, especially during the winter, further complicate this task, making it even more precarious.
• 27:00 - 33:00: The Future of Harbor Pilots and Technology The chapter focuses on the future of harbor pilots and how technology is influencing their work. It emphasizes the importance of timing and precision during pilot transfers, illustrating the challenges and unexpected aspects of the job. The narrative highlights how critical it is to remain vigilant and calm under pressure, as any hesitation can lead to complications. The physical and mental demands on harbor pilots are underlined, especially during pilot transfers when quick decision-making is crucial.
• 33:00 - 35:00: Conclusion: The Rewarding Nature of Being a Harbor Pilot In this chapter, the focus is on the final insights regarding the profession of a harbor pilot. The narrative highlights the dynamic challenges faced in the role as a pilot must constantly adapt to varying conditions while a ship is at sea. The chapter underscores the importance of the harbor pilot's expertise, specifically referencing O'Donnell's knowledge of Halifax Harbour, which is crucial for safely navigating a ship into port. The mention of tidal changes at specific times illustrates the complexity of the task, pointing to the meticulous attention needed to ensure safety and the rewarding nature of successfully guiding a vessel to its destination.

Land & Sea: Sea harbour pilots Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] the dangerous part of the transfer is an unexpected weight that will come up behind gate a lot of times I'll pull away from the ship after your hair will be racing what people forget about what pilots do is the guardian of the public when it comes to keeping their their harbors safe it's a good day to go down you won't get much better than this this is probably the most rewarding job I think you could have in the industry
• 00:30 - 01:00 [Music] hello I'm Tom Murphy welcome to Landon see it's one of the world's oldest professions since the dawn of exploration Mariners have relied on pilots to help them navigate unfamiliar waters here on the East Coast pilots have been guiding ships from around the world in and out of our harbors for more than 250 years today even as ships get larger and technology
• 01:00 - 01:30 gets smarter pilots still play a critical role in keeping our ports and the ships a call here safe 3:30 in the morning in the shadow of the Halifax skyline pilot Gary O'Donnell and his crew get ready for another day at the office horn said good got an inbound manic star
• 01:30 - 02:00 this morning yes sir five o'clock the station we got winds Northwest 10:15 at station yep what do you think ports I would leave for boarding okay sounds good the pilot boat heads out to sea traveling 16 kilometers out to an area known as Shabak towhead well thanks traffic source a pilot good morning we're departing ecto for the pilot station we get the wind direction and speed at reason they call it a pilot station but it's really just a line on a
• 02:00 - 02:30 chart a point in the sea where every Canadian ship over 1,500 tons in every foreign flagged vessel entering the harbor must have a pilot on board just ahead the lights of the Atlantic star a 100 thousand ton container ship the length of three football fields next our Scotia pilot dune come now 3 1 0 captain 3 1 0 K must be date night space
• 02:30 - 03:00 getting a pilot on board the ship is the most dangerous part of the job launch master Sam dolphining has to keep his boat as steady as possible so the pilot can grab hold of the ship's ladder all while both vessels are moving in open and often unpredictable seas weather really mitigates what we do here and how we board ships a lot of times in the wintertime it could be quite rough out here the dangerous part of the
• 03:00 - 03:30 transfer is an unexpected weight that will come up in behind you you've got your mom you got your eyes set on the ladder you're just about ready to go and the boat goes up timing is everything and the old story is that he who hesitates is a little bit out of luck a lot of times I'll pull away from the ship after doing a pilot transfer and you know your heart will be racing there's a lot going on there's a lot of
• 03:30 - 04:00 dynamics you know going on at the same time this ship is constantly at sea its last port Portsmouth Virginia one of eight ports it calls on every two weeks to safely enter port the captain relies on O'Donnell's expert knowledge of Halifax Harbour we had a high water tide at 3:30 this morning now the tide is on the ebb some low water 10:03 now a loo but we only
• 04:00 - 04:30 have that to berth the boat winds of Northwest 10 to 15 while the captain is still in charge of his ship Canadian law says the pilot has conduct of the vessel in the harbour captain we can come up back to issuing orders to control the speed and course every command repeated and confirmed to minimize human error three four five yes O'Donnell is one of almost 50 pilots who work the more than
• 04:30 - 05:00 30 thousand kilometers of coastline in Atlantic Canada when ships approach East Coast ports they call here the dispatch center in downtown Halifax such morning it's their job to make sure pilots are ready to guide ships into 17 ports 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year they're all extremely unique in nature they all have their own challenges Saint John New Brunswick has the highest heights in the world with amazing
• 05:00 - 05:30 currents in the spring with this and they're taking tankers fully loaded tankers in and out of those conditions daily you've got four Sencha Bay where it's 25 27 mile pilots run out to the boarding station then we've got Sydney Harbor which has in some areas shallow depths and confined areas we have st. John's Harbor has the Narrows you name it every port is different how are things in st. John today Sean Griffiths is a CEO of the Atlantic pilotage Authority a crown corporation one of four pilotage authorities in Canada the
• 05:30 - 06:00 others control shipping on the st. Lawrence River the Great Lakes and the westcoast the most important role we play is for the safety of people and protection of property environment those are the three pillars and why we exist and every ship that comes in out of art and out of our ports and our harbors and rivers is is kept that's kept in mind its first and foremost Halifax is the busiest port in the Maritimes renowned for its deep waters the biggest challenge for pilots here is the unpredictable weather so it's the
• 06:00 - 06:30 environment it's what Mother Nature throws at us it's the windage and it's a being able to have the tools you need to control that the other thing the factor is probably visibility during the spring obviously we know in Halifax is a very foggy place it's on par with San Francisco and for ships going all the way up into Bedford Basin there are the Narrows a channel only a quarter of a mile wide spanned by two commuter bridges manacle annexed are unclear okay
• 06:30 - 07:00 yeah sending it off for you when you get alongside here and the crew should be ready to take your life to navigate the Narrows safely a tug is attached to the stern of the ship ships this size that are greater than 250 meters in length now have to have compulsory tug escorts and that is just an added measure of insurance now that's they have a tug now
• 07:00 - 07:30 tethered to them so the event of the engine failure or rudder failure that the tug is able to mitigate the risk and keep the ship in the center of the channel we can come down a dead slow yep that's loaded thank you once the ship is through the Narrows some two hours after boarding it's time to dock at The Container Terminal a maneuver that requires the captain and pilot to turn the ship 180 degrees and back 100,000
• 07:30 - 08:00 tons of steel into her berth all with no brakes good for position I'll just get her alongside kale you can stop it's a complex process that requires a close working relationship between the pilot and the captain he has to trust me to handle his ship that it's not I'm not gonna damage it I think he trusts me I've been here at least 40 times but it's still good to have the pilot on board and it feels better than
• 08:00 - 08:30 God is here having a pilot on board decreases the risk of an accident but it wasn't enough to prevent the deadliest disaster in our nation's history coming up the explosion that shattered a city and the pilot authorities tried to blame federal officials were very anxious that there be a local scapegoat available to
• 08:30 - 09:00 deflect any of the criticism that was starting to come their way you Harbor pilots have been directing vessels in and out of ports on the East Coast for three centuries their record is enviable but for one day in December 100 years ago 1917 with world war 1 raging over seas
• 09:00 - 09:30 Halifax Harbour is filled with ships ferrying supplies to fuel the war effort in Europe on the morning of December the 6th the emo a Belgian relief ship was leaving the harbor and the Mont Blanc a French flag ship loaded with munitions was coming in to meet a convoy onboard the emo was pilot William Hayes on board the Mont Blanc his colleague pilot Francis Mackay so this is what the multiple would have seen that morning
• 09:30 - 10:00 Captain Robert power is a retired Harbor pilot who has spent decades poring over the events of the day and the actions of the two pilots they would know what they were going to do and they would expect what to expect the other man to do coming up in this case the month long was first to roll the whistle and he threw one blast indicating he wanted to go to starboard however for whatever reason on the bridge of the I moan they answered with
• 10:00 - 10:30 two blasts and that is a cross signal which means that something is not right there's they wanted to go on the same side of the channel that the long blonde was claiming so as to why they did that as the mystery we will never know he ended up with the long haul turning to port the I'm out putting our engines full speed astern and they ended up in this situation where the collision was
• 10:30 - 11:00 imminent and this would have been the result with their ship ablaze and knowing it's dangerous cargo pilot Mackey and the crew of the Mont blah Bandon ship making the short moments before the explosion leveled the city killing 2,000 and injuring thousands more I think the decision that they made might look bad but it saved that crew so there was that many less lives lost it was absolutely nothing that anybody on
• 11:00 - 11:30 that Mont Blanc could have done once the collision occurred that would stop anything it just could not happen the die was cast in the days that followed as a devastated city buried its dead and nursed its wounded pilot Frances Mackey went back to work Frances Mackey was the most experienced pilot at that time he'd been on the ocean for 24 years and had never had an accident or a mistake of any sort Janet maybe is the author of aftershock
• 11:30 - 12:00 the Halifax Explosion and the persecution of pilot Francis Mackey he was still a pilot he was taking ships in and out of the harbour at least 20 more ships he had taken out including leading out the entire first convoy that was able to leave five days after the explosion and I don't know if you can imagine what kind of courage that would take to be in charge of 45 ships on a harbor that has just been blown up and never thought for a minute that he was
• 12:00 - 12:30 going to be blamed for doing anything wrong but at the official inquiry into the accident Mackey was blamed so he went to the inquiry and was grilled for three days he spent more time on the stand than anybody else and it became fairly obvious that the lawyer for the imos company was determined to make him into the nasty villain the inquiry concluded that pilot Mackey was in fact
• 12:30 - 13:00 totally to blame for the collision because he crossed the bow of Imoh so therefore he should have his licence cancelled and he should be charged with slaughter and criminal negligence Mackey spent ten days in jail before the charges were thrown out but he was never fully cleared in the court of public opinion he was still subjected to ire and nasty comments on the street his
• 13:00 - 13:30 daughter told me about walking with him on Barrington Street and this would be not long after he was freed from prison and presumably cleared and there were men in black suits across the street shouting at him from the other side saying murderer and he said to his daughter stand tall and keep walking you've done nothing wrong and neither did I but this is the kind of memory that his children had to carry away from any years they had to hear about this in
• 13:30 - 14:00 school it's your father's fault that my family was all killed you know the talk went on for a great deal of time despite the fact of his technically being cleared of any wrongdoing Mackey also suffered financially despite being cleared it took four years and a change of government in Ottawa to get his license restored but his claim for four years of lost wages was denied and the sad thing is that by this time he
• 14:00 - 14:30 hadn't either the finances to fight it out legally or the energy or the will to do it because what's happened in the meantime is that his beloved wife died leaving him with six children to raise and the daughter had said to me several times it was the stress of those four years that killed my mother so he just withdrew any attempt to try to get compensation went back to work on the heaving ocean in all kinds of weather and paid back every penny that he owned
• 14:30 - 15:00 the lawyers even though it took him another six years to do that Mackey eventually remarried and served another 20 years as a pilot before retiring always believing he did nothing wrong that fateful day his fellow pilots must have agreed granting him a full pension and they also when Mackey retired covered the four years that he had not been able to work because of his license being denied they actually insisted that his
• 15:00 - 15:30 pension would be paid for with the equivalent of those four years intact so they really took care of each other and I think that's a remarkable point that should be made about them perhaps that's why they were so fierce about defending one of their own against all the attacks that were coming down on him coming up learning from experience you're constantly under evaluation Palafox tropic atlantic star good afternoon we're preparing to get underway from fairview code 4 see I had
• 15:30 - 16:00 750 assignments in and out of Halifax on just about every ship that we would get here but will technology push pilots out of the picture I still don't see the need for us to be around I don't think automation is gonna just take over just yet you [Music]
• 16:00 - 16:30 in today's global market ships are constantly on the move just hours after birthing in Halifax the Atlantic star is already preparing to depart for Liverpool its next port of call as the last containers are loaded pilot Ross Calder arrives to guide her out to sea today captain we got some winds out of the Northwest 20 to 25 knots we've got the two tugs the Atlantic oak and the Atlantic first 60 tonne bollard pole we're gonna lift the vessel off the dock up into the wind
• 16:30 - 17:00 probably in a northerly or heading above three five zero something like that the wind has picked up so Calder has ordered a second tug to get it off the dock with a ship this size and the wind this strong it will take 90 tons of force to keep the ship from slamming back into the dock the wind is messing with that today even we've got quite a bit of wind back on our back on our quarter it does it look like it ahead but we're making about three degrees through the water and I've asked for an engine movement up to slow ahead just to kind of increase
• 17:00 - 17:30 our speed through the water to help straighten the ship out dynamically so we can kind of line up for the for the center of the bridge a little bit better so we're not crabbing through it because of the wind navigating the Narrows day or night is always a challenge but for pilots their biggest concern is the small tour boats and pleasure craft that fill this harbour every summer a lot of people like to come up close and see the big ship and that is very I don't know I say frightening by times for us you know
• 17:30 - 18:00 we've got a lot of moving mass here you know the ship weighs a hundred thousand brogues tonnes you know some of these ships even with the tug attached and full of stern to stop them it takes at least a ship length and at the very least of ship length just say I'll just pass ahead of the big ship I'm just going over to the waterfront for ten minutes and you know it can create a real dangerous situation for them if they were to break down kayakers same thing if it's foggy a lot of these
• 18:00 - 18:30 vessels we can't see them very well on radar the very small return so especially kayaks and small craft like that so it can be very challenging becoming a pilot takes years of training they need to know every inch of the harbour Calder spent 17 years at sea before he joined the pilotage Authority but he just got his full pilot's license a few weeks ago Ave Atlantic star upon the ferry track Easter George's and Ives and all in approximately 15 minutes after almost
• 18:30 - 19:00 three years of additional training with veteran pilots you're constantly under evaluation so it's all based on trips number of trips so over a period of two and a half years I had 750 assignments in and out of Halifax on just about every ship that we would get here and every dock it's the biggest challenge I've ever had in my career 20 years it's the hardest thing I've ever done I thought getting my master Mariners was
• 19:00 - 19:30 difficult but becoming a pilot was by far the most challenging and humbling experience I've ever had in my life for sure but it was worth every bit of it pilots on the East Coast's make about 8,000 trips in and out of Port every year but their world is constantly changing ships are getting bigger technology now allows pinpoint movement and GPS tracking and like driverless cars some shipyards are experimenting with
• 19:30 - 20:00 completely automated ships no cruise no pilots so what does the future hold for one of the oldest professions on earth I don't know how that's all gonna play out just yet with automation but it's still gonna need the human factor in it especially when it comes to and there's always the risk what if something technological is wrong you know you could have a steering failure a main engine failure what happens now you get a major pollution spill and you size your Harbor and there's a question about the responsibility who's in charge now it's nothing happened the owner of the vessel of the the guy who made the
• 20:00 - 20:30 software for the vessel or the that's a good question whatever technology comes into place will not take away local knowledge of currents rocks subsea conditions dock infrastructure updates take time technology fails local knowledge of a pilot won't fail and still be there radar electronic charts real-time position indication at all they're all tools that help the pilot make these decisions and make them fast and effectively but the basis of pilotage
• 20:30 - 21:00 still remains unchanged to this day and it never will as local knowledge of each and every area halifax traffic atlantic starve just approaching for delta outbound so no reporting traffic in the lanes captain she's 165 and she's slow ahead thank you very much I have a safe trip to Liverpool thank you always a pleasure seeing you okay so thank you so much okay thank you good job second maybe show you the way to the pilot later thank you very much it's a good day to go down you won't get
• 21:00 - 21:30 much better than this this is probably the most rewarding job I think you could have in the marine industry the challenge is there and when you are able to move machinery like this around in harsh weather conditions lay the ships alongside successfully it's very rewarding it's very rewarding it takes a long time to get here but it's when the lines are ashore and everybody's happy and the ships they're safe and sound and you did a good job then it's a really
• 21:30 - 22:00 really good feeling and I've never felt that before [Music]