Pilots

Permanent education
As well as gaining experience from normal daily work activities, there is a system of continuous training in place. Training programs are developed to allow for safe manoeuvring and navigation in newly built ports, for example. Sometimes, these programs are implemented before the port in question has been put into use. Moreover, there are a large number of shorter courses concerning modern communications and navigation systems, as well as voyages to areas seldom used within the different regions. With measures such as the continuous assessment of education and the passing on of newly acquired knowledge to colleagues, the Dutch Loodsencorporatie tries to keep one step ahead of all the new developments within the maritime world. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain the highly professional standards of the marine pilot.

The Training
The training of a marine pilot is divided into three phases. The first phase is training given on a national level, where sections such as general knowledge and post-HBO (Higher Education) theory are covered. The second phase is where the beginning of the regional training takes place and the national part is rounded off. The third phase is fully regional in orientation, where practical and theoretical knowledge gained in the other two phases is put into use for trainee pilots in that specific region. At the end of the period of study, the trainee pilots will have made 200 voyages, both in the day time and at night, in all weather conditions. On these trips, they will be accompanied by an experienced pilot who acts as their coach.

When the training is completed, pilots are registered and may think that their days of studying are over…but they are wrong! During their whole career as pilots, they are required to complete a large number of courses and periods of training in order to maintain their level of knowledge and experience.

Pilots are not qualified to sail on every ship, initially. They have to go through a step-by-step process until they are qualified to sail on ships of all lengths, a process that has been implemented in order for pilots to build up their experience. Before these steps in ship size can be taken, however, pilots have to make a number of test voyages in which they are supervised by an experienced pilot.

After a period of ten years, pilots are able to sail on ships of all sizes, at which point they can volunteer to be able to pilot marginal vessels. This is “the specialist’! They are qualified to pilot vessels on the river and canal stretches with a length exceeding 235 meters and a draught of more than 12 meters. Their training consists of theoretical and practical sections based on the mathematical approach to forces that ships are subjected to, and their movements.

The practical section involves a difficult simulator training that is rounded off with an exam. ‘Specialists’ have to repeat their training and be examined, every three years.

Manoeuvring
In order for the largest of ships to be piloted in an efficient manner, pilots are trained on a simulator specialising in manoeuvring. Here, they learn and maintain the knowledge of the specific skills necessary in order to manoeuvre in channel stretches and in ports. 250 marine pilots complete this supplementary training every year. This is about 40% of the total number of pilots within the national pilot corporation in the Netherlands. This simulator training program was started in 1998 according to ISO 9001- and the future ISPO- regulations.

Shore based pilotage (Loodsen op Afstand LOA)
If pilots can not be placed onboard due to extreme weather conditions, ships still need to be taken safely to their destination. STODEL has developed a training program to combat these kinds of problems, involving shore based pilotage(LOA). This means that a certain part of the stretch that the ship has to sail is piloted from a shore based radar station. At the moment, the Dutch Loodswezen B.V. has 175 qualified LOA pilots that take ‘refresher’ courses every three years.

Personal safety
Experience has taught us that accidents and incidents are usually the result of human error. In general, this is more of a behavioural issue and not one based on knowledge. Faults of judgement, negligence through routine procedures and misunderstandings that occur when people have heard or understood wrongly.

A method of human resource management has been developed to combat this by optimising the working relationships between people. This makes people conscious of the processes that occur within themselves, as well as in the relationship between different people. A course in Bridge Resource Management was introduced in 1993 by Loodswezen in order for pilots to recognise these processes so that they are able to handle and correct unwanted situations. In meetings with, amongst others, the SAS Flight Academy, STODEL developed the Bridge Resource Management program. This supplementary course is not only followed by pilots, but is also given to ship’s captains and officers. It is taught by experienced marine pilots and is primarily used for optimising the teamwork between the pilot and those on the bridge. Pilots begin the course after they have been qualified for a year.

STODEL
STODEL (Stichting Opleiding en Deskundigheidsbevordering Registerloodsen) enable marine pilots to follow a personal safety training course every three years. It deals with the use of the pilot ladder, the pilot hoist, helicopter safety and survival at sea and the use of the lifejackets. The course takes place at the Maritiem Training Centrum’s swimming pool on the Maasvlakte, where all kinds of weather situations are simulated.

Training for radar-manoeuvring
STODEL has three advanced radar-manoeuvring simulators situated in IJmuiden, Rotterdam and Vlissingen. Trainee pilots, as well as experienced pilots, are trained in a practical manner to navigate and manoeuvre ships under conditions of reduced visibility.