SHIPS, CARGO & TRAFFIC
THE RIVER NEVER STOPS.
99.9%
CRESCENT RIVER PILOTS SAFETY RECORD
CRESCENT PILOTS WORK
24 HOURS A DAY
7 DAYS A WEEK
365 DAYS A YEAR
SAFETY FIRST,
ALWAYS.
Pilots are shielded from the economic pressures of the ship in order for safety to always be the basis of their decisions. This aspect of local pilotage exists to protect the citizens of the state from the potentially explosive nature of shipping vessels.
DANGER
Easing towards a dock on an inbound tanker, we must come near a halt with the tugboats helping to keep the ship in place. If the ship is moving too fast, it could tear the loading berth right from the terminal as though it were made of paper.
RIVER PILOT LOSES
HIS LIFE.
Vessels collide engulfing the ship and the river in fire. Captain Scarborugh races to drop the anchors protecting the city from a horrific event and helping to save 23 lives. He did not survive the explosion.
POWER
With 1,000 times more power than an automobile a container ship’s speed must be controlled, but without brakes these steel hunks take miles to stop.
MAINTENANCE
A ship’s primary need is to get in and out of port as quickly as possible while a pilot’s priority is to ensure safe transit. Because standards for maintenance vary from one ship to another Crescent Pilots are trained to board and immediately assess any issues that are a potential risk for navigation.
PILOT LADDER
To board a ship a small pilot boat nears the moving vessel aiming to get as close as possible. This approach is hard to describe because the ship’s size is much bigger than most people realize.
The deep water churns between the two vessels as the rope ladder bounces against the massive hull making a well timed leap to catch the ship's ladder somewhat of a heart stopping moment.
The ladder is regarded as one of the most dangerous parts of the job, certainly a faulty ladder increases risk for Crescent Pilots. Pilots, throughout the world, have sadly lost their lives boarding or disembarking from their ships.
THE LARGEST SHIPS CARRY 745 MILLION BANANAS, ONE FOR EVERY PERSON IN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA.
The amount of cargo on just one ship can stretch halfway around the planet. It is remarkable that 90% of world trade happens on a ship, just as it did 500 years ago.
MANAGING
RIVER
TRAFFIC
Our port is extraordinarily busy, in the 264 miles of water covered by local pilot groups, 70-150 ships are routinely moving at any one time. Each must navigate through tight spaces, sometimes only having 100 feet between one ship and another. Pilots must think about what will occur in 10 minutes and what will incur in an hour, as well as, be informed about the docking options for their ships.
For this reason the traffic logistics team is operating behind the scenes 24 hours a day maintaining critical communication with pilots. They carefully monitor river traffic in order to make decisions to utilize manpower efficiently and dispatch pilots at approximate times. The logistics team is detailed, highly skilled at projecting outcomes of traffic moves, and above all else able to effectively communicate with people from a wide variety of interests.
