For ports facing pilot shortage there is light at the end of the tunnel
The dearth of Pilots, who guide ships through the congested waters of the harbor, is being felt world wide. The recent proposed initiatives could well ease the situation considerably provided the government acts promptly in forming a pool of pilots for the entire country and formulating shorter duration courses exclusively for harbor pilots. This phenomenon has become acute in recent times in most ports of India except Mumbai.
Various schemes tried out at different ports have only yielded temporary results. Offers of better working conditions, attractive pay scales, family benefits, and others perks are often being made by some of the 12 major ports owned by the Central government. But the end result has been the same and ports are left making frenzied search for pilots to replace those who quit for better paid jobs on shore or decide to return to sea for salaries which ports can ill-afford.
“Lucrative benefits have been offered by Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in order to address this shortage, but no avail,” informed S. Shahzad Hussain, Chairman of JNPT. “A special committee has been constituted for imparting training and for certification of pilots. It was also recommended to constitute a panel of pilots thereby creating a pool / reserve of trained manpower (pilots) for the entire nation. JNPT has also launched two pilot launches made of fibre glass.”
An official of the Mumbai port pointed out that it may not be possible to offer $ 4,000 to $ 5,000 per month salaries as paid on foreign going vessel to Master Mariners since the scale of wages for all port workers are on the basis of the agreement reached between the trade unions and the government. “But our port has not faced pilot shortage because of our better working conditions, contends Rahul Asthana, Chairman of the Mumbai Port Trust. “The attractive perks we offer makes up for the lower salaries. Besides, our accommodation for pilots is a big attraction and we are able to pay more to the temporary staff taken on contract including pilots, than what we give the permanent staff as this falls outside the purview of the unions wage agreement. This is what is drawing more pilots to our port.”
An official of a leading training institute stated that if the administration, viz the Director General of Shipping, government of India, agrees then nautical officers who have completed their second mates could be given simulator training to learn the underwater harbor contours and other relevant matters for guiding ships in and out of the port. This could also greatly help in grooming more pilots for our ports.