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Pilotage from shore.

Published January 9, 2008 in Pilot, Pilotage, Swedish, Sweden and Navigation. 2 Comments

A pilot getting ready to board, this sight may become a thing of the past in Sweden according to an article today from the newspaper Göteborgs Posten. An inquiry has been carried out by the Swedish Government into making pilotage more effective, one of the proposals is that ships can be piloted from land with the use of modern techniques available to navigators today. An overhaul of the pilotage legislation is also proposed as well as increased pilot dispensations for ships that are regular visitors to ports.
No surprise to read in the article that Pilots are against the idea of piloting from land by VHF and or computer, one pilot said that you have to be onboard to be able to steer a ship correctly, to be able to feel the characteristics of a ship. I agree in part with the Pilots but also feel that there are many occasions where the services of a pilot are not required, and in some ports you can be delayed because you have to wait for a pilot, to take you out on a 15 minute pilotage, you may have to wait a few hours for that 15 minutes.
The answer is not easy, but more flexibility is required in some cases and compulsory pilotage should be continued where local knowledge is important for safe berthing of ships, or ships carrying dangerous goods
The suggestions are hardly new thinking in any case, in Rotterdam you get a VHF pilot if the weather is too bad for a pilot to board, a bit of an irony really, if the weather is too bad for the pilot to board they trust the master to navigate whereas in better weather you need a pilot on the bridge? Pilotage dispensations are hardly a new idea either, ferry Masters have been getting dispensations for years, more widespread issuing of dispensations will have to be carefully thought through though, an oil spill or collision in port with no pilot on board is unwelcome to say the least.

The real reason for the inquiry is probably more likely to do with the difficulty in finding enough qualified people to do the job of pilot, a problem across the industry, than any need for using new technology. New technology didn’t help the container ship LT Cortesia from going aground in the English Channel, and you can bet your last dollar that it would never have happened had they a deep sea pilot onboard.

Lots Utredninging ( Pilotage inquiry) in Swedish
Göteborgs Posten article.in Swedish

Swedish tanker

Published December 8, 2007 in ship spotting, photos, Tankers, Swedish and Sweden. 0 Comments

Stoc Regina

Originally uploaded by kristian gos
Stoc Regina, Stockholm seen at Karlstad on lake Vänern, Sweden. Photo taken by Kristian Gos 20th December 2006.

Fantastic mirror image, hard to believe it is late December.

Fartyg, another IKEA classic

Published December 4, 2007 in IKEA, Home improvements, From Sweden and Swedish. 1 Comment

Fartyg, another IKEA classic Fartyg is of course the Swedish for “Ship” and I am fairly sure the designers felt this name would convey a nautical theme to the product….unfortunately the majority of the English speaking world have a laugh at Farty G!

Act your age

Published November 9, 2007 in Beer, Swedish, Sweden and Uncategorized. 3 Comments

You know you are getting old when the pilot is younger than you at Rotterdam, until now I have been spared but the next generation of pilots young and with full heads of hair are appearing on the scene. Since cadetship the pilot at each port was a fixture, a constant, respected, knowledgeable, now it’s a bunch of young lads…..I suppose I am just showing my age, they are just as good young as old.

I still have to pass the psychological barrier of 40 so I am still doing OK. I did a story the other day about how the Swedes advertise beer which was all very amusing. A 77 year old pensioner was not so amused when he was asked to show his ID card called “legitimation” when he was buying a few cans of lite beer, it turns out he was the chairman of his local pensioners organisation and the whole thing was brought to the national TV news and current affairs programmes. The store (ICA) where he was going to buy the lite beer had created a new rule where you show your ID to stop underage drinkers, how they reason that a 77 year old should have to show ID is beyond me. It was claimed that it stops people selling beer to underage drinkers? How? I wouldn’t mind but the Swedish state controls the sale of alcohol, you can only buy real beer and liquor from the state run “System Bolaget” unless you go to Denmark or Germany and buy it for half the price. You have to be 20 to buy alcohol from one of these state run shops, you have to be 18 to buy from a bar, you have to be 18 to vote. So you can vote at 18 and drink in a bar but not buy from the state run liquor store……..I know I don’t get it either, and you can import as much as you want on the net. So lite beer sellers are pissing against the wind of opinion and pissing people off as far as I can see.

The 77 year old refused to show his ID, and went to the next store and was served lite beer without discussion(another ICA).

How the Swedish advertise beer….

Published November 3, 2007 in Youtube, Tourist, Swedish and Irish. 4 Comments

The accents are terrible, the beards are worse, but it is funny. I didn’t know if I should be annoyed or amused when I saw it first, I am leaning towards amused thinking about all the Swedish tourists looking for bearded fishermen when on holidays in Ireland.