UCTE represents ships’ crew and dispatchers at the Atlantic Pilotage Authority, Great Lakes Pilotage Authority, and Laurentian Pilotage Authority. Jason Coakley works for the Atlantic Pilotage Authority in Halifax.
There is more to our harbours than meets the eye of most travelers. It takes local expertise to guide ships through local waters and harbours safely. Public service workers are making that happen.
Background
Pilotage authorities are financially self-sufficient Crown Corporations, in waterways designated as compulsory pilotage areas. That means vessels pay a fee to take on board a marine pilot with expertise in local waters. The pilot guides the vessel through the waterway, avoiding environmental hazards, coordinating with tugboats, and whatever else it takes to get through safely.
But how does that pilot get on and off the ship? That’s where things get interesting.
A rope ladder usually goes to a small door in the hull or right up to the deck — you may have seen this door. It can be a hairy adventure to get in and out of this door, or to be the crew – like our members – who transport the pilot and position them to get in, in rough or smooth waters.
Jason Coakley explains, “We run them out to meet ships before they enter the harbour. It’s off a headland called Chebucto Head [the outer limit of Halifax Harbour] about seven or eight miles from the city. We run alongside of the moving ship, steer against it while they’re moving along. At the right moment, depending on how much we’re bouncing up and down, the pilot jumps on a rope ladder, climbs up the side of the ship and then goes up to the bridge.” A UCTE member like Jason is out there on the deck, advising the pilot, or physically hoisting them onto the ladder.
The pilot can then guide the ship through the waters, avoiding danger to passengers or cargo, or to the environment, and communicate with tugboats and others whose services are needed to get in or out of the harbour.
Between shifts, walking his dog in Pleasant Park between shifts, Jason meets many folks who have no idea what a Pilotage Authority is. “Most people [even other mariners],” says Jason, “don’t even realize we’re out there doing what we do.”
“Every port around the world has harbour pilots. If it’s a small Caribbean Island that takes a cruise ship, there’s a local captain, same for Halifax or Los Angeles or anywhere.”
It’s like a lot of aspects of transport – all about the hazards and factors most people never see, as long as things go right. “If you can picture a container ship and you can see what’s above the water surface, there’s almost that much ship below the surface.” That’s why the local expertise is crucial.
SOS
Naturally, the Pilotage Authority boats are also on hand to respond to distress calls. They need to get anyone out of that cold water within three minutes. The pilot boat is equipped with a rescue basket on the back and state-of-the-art equipment, and Coakley has pulled a few people out of the water, sometimes being on the spot while the Coast Guard has to come from twenty minutes away.
Fortunately, Jason himself hasn’t ended up needing rescue. But the risk is there — just imagine the pilot boat pitching and bouncing up and down alongside a 300-meter container ship, in every kind of weather conditions, interacting with the tides and currents.
Jason: “The winter months are the worst. You know, snow flying and everything else, you can barely see, and the wind’s blowing, you know, 80 miles an hour in your face and that kind of stuff.
Coakley grew up on the water, looked at different marine careers, and found the pilotage authority job by asking around at the harbour. Now he’s 20 years in. This job has been helpful for him as a father of three – not every job on the water allows one to go home after each shift. Night shifts are 14 hours, but some other jobs take mariners away from home for weeks or months.
Their Risk, our Reward
But it’s not that the job isn’t difficult, and sometimes risky. Jason is evidently proud that they’re out there on the harbour delivering pilots to bring ships in, even when all the other mariners are on the dock because of environmental conditions.
Asked if the adventure is part of the appeal of the job, he says “No.”
“Well, it was when I was younger.”
Thank you to our pilotage authority crew and dispatchers who get out there, regardless of conditions, to bring in cargo and passengers safely through our waterways. A few hazardous minutes of bobbing up and down so that a pilot can jump onto a rope ladder down the side of a ship produces safety for so many others, and for our waterways’ natural environment too.
