Terry Hutson DURBAN'S PORT marine operations manager agrees with an anonymous FTW reader that a delay in berthing a ship recently shouldn't have happened. But, says Khakhathi Munyai, the agent helped delay his own ship because he didn't follow the correct procedures (in reporting his complaint). "Had he contacted me instead of the pilot's wardroom, I could have sorted out the problem and there would be no story. Instead he chose to do his own thing and afterwards ran to the press with the story." Munyai said he had previously written to all ships agents advising them of his contact details and asking that any problems be brought to his attention. "That's what I am here for, 24 hours a day." The story began with the reader, who chose to keep his identity hidden, even to FTW, telephoning FTW's Johannesburg office to report that his (unnamed) ship had been delayed because of a shortage of pilots' on duty. He said he had telephoned the pilots' wardroom and was told that one of the pilots was off sick, leaving only two on duty. Munyai confirmed this and told FTW that he knew of the case. He explained that at all times Durban is supposed to have three pilots on duty. "We have six tugs on duty and three pilots. At night when things are quieter we lower this to two pilots and four tugs. But if someone goes off sick, we have a pool of available pilots who can be called out at short notice. We are not short-staffed Ð there are 18 pilots on the roster in Durban with another three in training and we can cope with these unexpected problems, provided procedures are followed." He said that on the day in question one of the three pilots on duty was taken suddenly ill with food poisoning. The other two pilots on duty took it on themselves not to call for a replacement, as the shipping was low with few vessels booked and they thought they could manage. "This was our fault Ð this should have been reported, but wasn't," says Munyai. "Unfortunately things then got busy, with unexpected arrivals requiring pilotage and tug assistance. By the time the shift change took place it was evening, and only two pilots came on duty. At that point the agent decided to cancel his ship until the next morning." Munyai said there were no retirements scheduled for the next 36 months and Durban would have a full roster of 21 pilots during that time. He repeated his call for agents to contact him directly with any problems on 031-361 8838, 361 8688 or cell 083 442 6477.
