The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FREEPORT – Nick Cutmore, Secretary General of the International Maritime Pilots’ Association, told the 22nd IMPA Congress in Panama, about the inadequacies in the pilotage industry in the Bahamas.

He reported that a number of local pilots have taken a “leap of faith” by resigning from their posts to establish an independent pilotage group to improve industry standards for marine pilots, particularly in Grand Bahama.

“Pilots there are trying to form themselves into one cohesive group and shake off the sloppiness of big oil and corporate thinking,” he told the delegates on Monday.

“They have all resigned their post to press the issue - that is a staggering leap of faith.”

The IMPA Congress meets annually to discuss matters of importance affecting the industry and to hold elections of officers. This year, it is being held in Panama City, April 7-11, hosted by the Panama Canal Pilots’ Association.

During his address on the topic, “IMPA on Pilotage,” Mr Cutmore expressed his dissatisfaction over the lack of proper pilotage standards. “It was much to my surprise,” he said, “to find in the Bahamas’ own backyard as far as pilotage is concerned, dismal standards, no oversight, commercial expediency, a long list of accidents, and just plain stupidity.”

In March, the IMPA official was invited to Grand Bahama to speak at the Bahamas Maritime Pilots’ Association forum on Best Practices, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Standards, Insurance Requirements, and Safety and Training Guidelines.

During that time, he expressed serious concerns about the absence of proper structure for pilotage in Freeport. He was also concerned about the number of accidents and wake-up calls at anchorage.

“There is clearly no transparency, and most of what we see in other nations is missing in terms of structure from the top to the people on the ground doing their jobs.

“Having been here – I have to say I am shocked at some of the things I’ve heard that sort of make your teeth curl. There is an absence of a great many things that the shipping community might be expecting to find here,” he said in Freeport.

BMPA official Erin Ferguson has expressed concerns over the absence of a pilotage authority in the Bahamas.

He has claimed that the proper training for marine pilots is lacking and that the harbour in Freeport is unsafe. BORCO and Freeport Harbour Company have denied this and said that their pilotage operations comply with IMO standards.

On March 28, more than a dozen pilots resigned from BORCO and Freeport Harbour Company in Grand Bahama.

BMPA president Capt Kendall Williamson is expected to address the Congress on Friday about the challenges facing those pilots in Grand Bahama.

“The BMPA is very pleased with the opportunity to express to the entire Maritime Community worldwide the challenges that the BMPA have faced in Freeport, Grand Bahama,” he said.

Captain Williamson believes that it is a clear opportunity for the association to share its challenges, gain access to more resources from Pilots worldwide and to talk about a way forward in terms of immediate policy changes that must happen in Freeport in keeping with IMO Standards.

“This makes clear that the push of the BMPA towards independent, self-funded, non-competitive Pilotage, with one Pilot’s Association per port operating Pilotage, is completely reasonable and along the lines followed worldwide, the Panama Canal and the Panama Canal Pilots’ Association’s model make that clear,” he said.

He noted that Panama has the number one transshipment hub in the western hemisphere and provides a perfect model for Freeport, which is second in transshipment, as to how to carry out Pilotage Operations at a transshipment centre.

“As Freeport plans to expand its transshipment operations it is extremely important that all international standards are incorporated into the country’s Maritime Policy and practices on the ground in Freeport,” he said.

Other speakers include Koji Sekimizu, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Captain Mike Watson, President of the International Maritime Pilots Association, Paul Kirchner, Executive Director of the American Pilots Association; Rainiero Salas, President of Panama Canal Pilots’ Association, Mike Burgess of the Canadian Marine Pilots’ Association, Mike Morris of the United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’ Association, Dr Phil Belcher of INTERTANKO, Rob Lomas of INTERCARGO and others.