Capt. Mutlu Dündar spoke at the Chamber of Shipping, drawing attention to pilot ladder accidents

Turkish Maritime Pilots' Association President Mutlu Dündar spoke at the Chamber of Shipping Assembly, drawing attention to pilot ladder accidents

Captain Mutlu Dündar, President of the Turkish Pilots Association, attended the Chamber of Shipping Assembly Meeting held today and made a speech that brought up the recent pilot ladder accidents.

Reminding that Captain Cafer Kıribrahim died as a result of a sad work accident, Dündar said that Kıribrahim fell into the sea on Monday, 18 July 2022, during the transfer process from the pilot boat named "Yalova Pilot 2" to the tanker named "Alhani", where he will provide piloting service, on Monday, 18 July 2022, at the Yalova Çiftlikköy ship anchorage area. He said that after a while, he was taken from the sea by the Marine Police boat and the first intervention was made, and then he was taken to Yalova State Hospital by the 112 Emergency Service teams. Unfortunately, he could not be saved despite all the interventions.

"Existing standards should be improved"

Captain Mutlu Dundar continued:

"First of all, I wish God's mercy on our martyr of the profession, and my condolences to his grieving family, fans, colleagues and the entire maritime community. In addition to our great sadness for this accident, we all have responsibilities to avoid similar work accidents, loss of life and injuries, and to ensure safer working conditions. All kinds of measures, including equipment, legislation and standards, should be reviewed and evaluated in order for the pilots to join and leave the ships for service without such accidents, the current situation should be determined, if there are deficiencies, they should be evaluated immediately. should be corrected, if there are defects, they should be corrected and existing standards should be developed.

Captain Mutlu Dündar stated that the pilotage profession has gathered under the headings the issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure safety, service quality and efficiency. These titles include the Inclusion of Limit Values ​​for Air and Sea Conditions in the relevant Legislation Specific to Ports, pilot boat standards, Inspection of Pilot Transfer Equipment and Regulations, Re-establishment of Senior Pilotage Practice and Return of Our Right to Wear and Recognition of the Occupation as "Heavy and Dangerous Work" Dundar continued as follows:

"Pilots are the providers of a service that is provided continuously, regardless of summer and winter, day and night, holidays, holidays or working days. This continuity should be interrupted and stopped in conditions that everyone can accept and as is practiced in the ports of many developed countries, where the service cannot be maintained safely. But unfortunately, In our country, except for individual applications, it is not sufficient to determine and implement the limit values ​​of the weather and sea conditions in our national legislation, where pilotage service can be provided safely in our ports.Providing port services in conditions where the weather and sea conditions are not suitable, puts the safety of maneuvering and navigation at risk, as well as the safety of the pilots serving. It may cause injury or even death. Therefore, considering criteria such as ports, docks, ship type, service type, it would be appropriate to determine limit values ​​and include them in the Ports Regulation.

Pilot Boat Standards

Emphasizing that a significant part of the pilot's transfer is carried out with the pilot boat, Mutlu Dündar said that the legal requirements and national standards of commonly used pilot engines have not yet been determined. Dundar said as follows:

"The minimum technical equipment and equipment rules of the pilot boats should be defined with a legislative text. These rules should also cover the number and qualifications of the personnel who will be on the boat during service in the pilot boat. These standards include the technical equipment required to remove a person who falls into the sea without delay and without being harmed, the qualifications and qualifications of the personnel to be used. New boats should be built, and old boats should be adapted to them by following the developments in the world in the construction of pilot boats in recent years, using sample models, projects, specifications and similar guideline studies. These standards have not been fully settled. Türk Loydu can lead the world in this regard, and we, as the Turkish Pilots' Association, can provide all kinds of technical support."

Inspection of Pilot Transfer Equipment and Arrangements

Mutlu Dündar stated that all stages of the transfer from the pilot station, where the pilot is resting, to the ship he will serve or from the ship to the station in the opposite direction should be inspected for safety, Dündar said that since the station, the pilot boat and the ship are safe in all aspects regarding the transfer of the pilot, everything that will ensure the transitions in between. He emphasized that it is necessary to ensure that all kinds of equipment and arrangements are duly provided. Dundar said that the equipment and arrangements regarding the Pilot's Transfer must also be checked in the Port State Controls and said, "It is important and necessary to inspect that the pilot's cross, pier and other equipment on the ship are equipped with integrity and safety. Likewise, the pilot engine used in the transfer to the ship and all kinds of equipment. The suitability of vehicles and equipment for safe human transfer should be inspected. China has applied to IMO for the taking of Pilot's transfer devices to routine Port State Controls in the past months, and this application is also supported by IMPA and EMPA. Inspections to be made in routine port state controls will make the system more functional and It will make a huge contribution to its safety.” said.

Re-establishment of Senior Pilotage Practice

Mutlu Dündar said that senior piloting should be re-established and said: "The institution of Senior Pilotage, which was abolished with the 2018 Seafarers and Pilots Regulations, should be included in our relevant legislation again and should be brought in line with all world countries and IMO decisions. It is indispensable for the safety of sea, life, property and the environment. In our current system, pilots who have obtained a Pilot's license after 3 months of 30-ship internship can board a 400-meter mother container or Suez-max tanker without any restrictions. In our 2006 regulation, this period was applied as 4 years in parallel with IMO decisions and practices in the world.”

Returning the Right to Attrition and Recognizing the Occupation as “Hard and Dangerous Work”

Chairman Mutlu Dündar emphasized that they want the piloting profession to be included in the scope of wear and tear and continued as follows:

"All of our seafaring colleagues, including the pilots, should be given the right to wear and tear, which was taken away from them in 2008, to their rightful owners as soon as possible. Injuries and deaths in occupational accidents prove the difficulty and weariness of the maritime profession in general. They work in shallow and limited waters, on different ships, with an intense and heavy work tempo.They join and leave the ships they will serve, from a moving sea vehicle to another moving vessel, with a rope ladder called the cross, which they hold on, any kind of problem that may occur on the ship during the service. The maritime profession in general and pilots have always served with high sacrifice and deprivation.The routine work of seafarers is just a few of the familiar challenges of the profession. Voyages are like adventures for other people. Distance, separation, deprivation, shift work, having to work at night, being exposed to seasons or climatic conditions, cold or heat, sun, wind, waves are the known difficulties of maritime. However, different working environments, different ships have their own challenges. Seafarers, who ensure the continuity of the supply chain, continue to work in unexpected difficulties such as war and epidemics, and are among the professions that ensure the continuation of life for all humanity in the world, and therefore are considered to provide an important service in the world, and are known as key workers, critical workers or basic workers. Seafarers should not be deprived of the legal guarantees they deserve in terms of working conditions and personal rights. For these reasons, the Pilotage and the Maritime profession in general should benefit from the right to wear out. For this, they should be included in the scope of Article 40 of the Law No. 5510 and they should be allowed to benefit from the actual service period increase. In addition, our profession should be evaluated within the scope of the Heavy and Dangerous Works Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 16.06.20004 and numbered 25494."

"The employment contracts of 20 pilots were terminated for no reason"

Stating that the employment contracts of approximately 20 pilots have been terminated without a reasonable and acceptable reason in the last 1 year, Chairman Dündar expressed that they are experiencing great difficulties as an association in this regard, Dündar concluded.