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The city of Auckland is
situated on an isthmus formed by the history of the Waitemata, which flows
out on the eastern side of the North Island in to the Hauraki Gulf, and
the Manukau Harbour, which is located on the western side. At the
narrowest part of the isthmus the harbours are separated by less than
1600m. These two harbours and their two commercial ports in close
proximity to each other and yet separated by hundreds of kilometres of
coastline were to become the newly formed Auckland Harbour Board in 1871,
with Captain William C Daldy appointed as its first chairman.
Ports of Auckland was first
formed in 1988 when the assets from the previous Harbour Board were handed
over to the local councils. Today, Ports of Auckland Limited is 100
percent owned by Auckland Regional Holdings, a statutory investment entity
accountable to the Auckland Regional Council and the ratepayers of
Auckland.
The company owns and
operates the port of Auckland, New Zealand's largest international
container port and a major gateway for imports and exports on the New
Zealand East Coast. It also owns and operates the regional port of
Onehunga, nestled in the upper reaches of the Manukau Harbour on
Auckland's western coast.
The company has 568
full-time equivalent staff and is open 24/7. The company services more
than 1700 ship calls a year and handles some four million tonnes of break
bulk cargo and more then 770,000 TEU (20ft equivalent container units) a
year, representing 50 percent of the North Island container trade and 37
percent of New Zealand's total container trade.
Of all the ports in New
Zealand ports of Auckland's container trade is the most balanced, with
full imported containers making up 55 percent and full exported containers
making up 45 percent of all containers passing through the port. As an
island nation it is recognised that 98 percent of all imported goods
arriving in New Zealand arrive by ship.
But it is the 1656 new
arrivals in the last 12 months that give an indication of how busy the
port is. When you consider that these arrivals also depart, and there were
a further 432 movements between berths, this gives a total of 3736
Waitemata Harbour movements, all of which require the services of a pilot.
This in turn requires the services of an efficient pilot boat to be able
to transfer the pilot safely to the inbound ship, or recover them as the
ship departs the pilot station.
Pilot boats are purpose-built for the safe,
swift and efficient transport of ship’s pilots from the port to
approaching ships. All ships over 500 gross tonnes or 40m in length
require a pilot. The pilot has the responsibility to fit in with the
ship’s bridge management resources team and navigate the ship safely
through the Rangitoto Channel into the Waitemata Harbour and her allocated
berth in the port of Auckland.
The job of a pilot boat is both complex and
arduous. Pilot boat construction is regulated by a Maritime Rule and there
is a general view among port managers that existing craft can no longer be
converted to pilot duties. Modern pilot boats require speed, excellent
sea-keeping ability, manoeuvrability and above all the ability to nudge
alongside a ship in a seaway and hold fast long enough to safely transfer
the pilot to the boarding ladder.
This controlled contact or bump-and-run not
only requires good skill from the coxswain but also a high level of
agility from the pilot as he scarpers up the ladder while the pilot vessel
pulls away, leaving a void of rushing water as a reminder to the pilot
that there is no going back. Likewise, when recovering the pilot the
reverse applies. Once the vessel has been nudged and held alongside by the
coxswain, the pilot scampers down the ladder to take a trusting leap into
the arms of the deckhand, as once again the boat pulls away from the ship.
This exercise becomes second nature to the
coxswains, crew and pilots who have the task of safely navigating visiting
ships of all sizes through the narrow waterways to our ports.
Gone are the stately pilot launches of
yesteryear. The number of ship movements today requires the services of a
new generation of pilot boat. Today's craft need to be fast, manoeuvrable
and able to handle 2m seas and a dirty chop while transferring a pilot
safely at sea.
In choosing its new vessel, the port company
specified a 32 knot service speed to be delivered by twin C12 Caterpillar
marine diesel engines. The choice of was logical because Caterpillar
diesels are the predominant engines in the port’s fleet of straddle
carriers and high-lift fork hoists.
Maintaining continuity means future
servicing and maintenance will be compatible with the port company's
existing engineering staff. Health and safety was another factor, with
particular attention being made to reduce noise levels within the
wheelhouse and of the working environment, both internally and externally,
to reduce the level of noise impacting on residential areas near Auckland
Harbour.
Named after a previous port company pilot
boat, the Akarana will replace the Waitemata, the port's primary
pilot that has been in service at the port since 1990. The 30 knot
Waitemata will be retained as the number two backup vessel. Ports of
Auckland's other pilot boat, the Paerata, purchased from Melbourne,
Victoria 12 years ago, has been sold. The Paerata was built in 1978 and
was capable of 18 knots.
Although it is slower than the Waitemata,
her seakeeping abilities allowed her crew to maintain a good turn of speed
in Auckland's dirty conditions. The new vessel, manned by a crew of two,
was required to carry up to four pilots, although on most occasions only
one or two and occasionally a third pilot will be carried. There was a
requirement to have a pilot console where the duty pilot can update
navigational information, weather and tidal conditions, bridge management
control and other information of the ship he is about to board on to his
laptop.
This meant that the on-board computer system
needed to be linked to Ports of Auckland’s control centre via the internet
to ensure that the pilot was fully prepared when boarding. Ports of
Auckland Limited has developed its own bridge management advisory papers
which are updated just before the pilot boards, and may be handed to the
master of the ship to advise him of basic information about the port’s
tidal conditions and what he can expect from the pilot and tugs on
arrival. Foreign masters around the world have recognised the system as
being very easy to use. Ports throughout Australia and New Zealand have
adopted it.
A Whangarei boatbuilding firm, which is
reluctant to be named, as it says it has more than enough work on, built
the 14.9m aluminium Naiad-designed boat for less than $1 million.
The Akarana is
powered by twin C12 Caterpillar marine
diesels, each developing 570hp. Together they produce a service speed of
32 knots. The first one of her kind, the Akarana will be expected
to operate in all weather and sea conditions that could be expected on the
Waitemata Harbour and inner Hauraki Gulf.
She is equipped with
leading marine technology, including AIS (automated identification system)
so the crew are always able to identify the correct ship, coupled with
electronic chart displays will always ensure that neither fog nor
torrential rain will ever present a visibility or identification problem.
This capability, coupled
with the previous dredging of the commercial shipping lane in the
Rangitoto Channel, which was deepened to 12.5m at chart datum and is now
marked by the latest new satellite-controlled navigation buoys, means that
the Akarana will be able to meet the largest container ships
calling in New Zealand, the 4100teu, and bring them into berth at
virtually any state of the tide.
At first glance the
Akarana is unmistakably a pilot boat, not that the traditional deep
orange colour and the word “pilot” would give her away. Modern pilot boats
clearly have an unmistakable look, from their central to aft-positioned
pilothouse to the robust fendering system, and a wraparound safety harness
track with her crew for’ard safety cage set in from the vessel's sides.
The pilothouse is fitted
with reverse sheer for’ard-sloping front windows to reduce glare and
deckhead quarterlights that give clear upward vision to the coxswain when
alongside. There are also two large Weaver clear light hatches in the
pilothouse deckhead for added overhead visibility and ventilation. Windows
all the way around the pilothouse afford the crew excellent all-round
vision.
The safety rails across the
transom also incorporate life-rings on each side, with the starboard
life-ring being a quick-release operated by the coxswain in the unlikely
event that a pilot slips and falls in the water.
On this occasion it would
be expected that the pilots auto-inflate lifejacket will activate and on
bobbing to the surface he will be within reaching distance of the
life-ring. The pilot vessel would do an immediate about-turn and recover a
wet and bedraggled pilot via the stern ladder. If the pilot is injured in
any way, the crew has a recovery system known as a Jason’s Cradle, which
in turn enables the effective recovery of an unconscious person.
The fendering system is
made from EVA closed-cell foam, which is profile-cut out of laminated
blocks and then glued and fastened to the belting ribs and lugs. One of
the key aspects of the system is that there is no through-bolting and
hence no areas for potential leaks and corrosion. The fendering system is
coated with a Rhino eurothane coating similar to the product used to
protect the trays of utility vehicles. This coating gives strength to the
eurothane while providing some slippage when coming alongside a ship's
hull.
On stepping inside the
pilothouse we see that the interior is lined with serviceable
“Frontrunner,” and that there are three pilot seats to starboard, a crew
seat for’ard to port and the pilot’s computer station behind this to port.
Behind this position is the access way below to the lazaret, steering
compartment, heads and main engine room.
In the centre space is
positioned a day head for crew and pilots, with space available for a
small galley. For’ard through another watertight door is the engineroom,
where the two large Cats wait, ready to pounce into action. This space is
under and slightly for’ard of the pilothouse and is designed to give full
headroom during servicing and maintenance. A for’ard watertight escape
hatch doubles as a supply hatch for removing or loading lubricating oils
and other supplies.
The engine space is
protected by a Pyrogen fire-fighting fire suppression system. For’ard of
the engine room bulkhead is an empty void before the collision bulkhead,
effectively dividing the hull into five watertight compartments.
On looking throughout the
hull it is easy to see the additional engineering and strength that has
been built into the hull. The electrical systems are well designed, with
all the cabling tidy and secure. The main fuel tanks are positioned under
the pilothouse and there is also an on-board sewerage tank.
Back in the pilothouse, the
navigational and electronic aids are duplicated, which enables the
coxswain to operate on one screen while the crewmember can be working on
another and checking the on-board systems and closed circuit television.
As previously stated, the suite of electronics and systems is the most
up-to-date available and is specifically designed for a pilot boat
operating in a busy port.
All the seats are
spring-loaded with safety arms to allow the occupant to settle in for the
ride. Gone are the days of backbreaking, knee-jerking thumping trips to
the pilot station. Every consideration has been given to ensure that crew
and pilots’ health and safety has not been compromised.
As we step outside, access
for’ard is via clear wide side decks or waists. When at sea, the crew clip
on to one of the cars on the safety track and move for’ard. Once for’ard,
with the crewmen in the for’ard cage, the pilot is unclipped as the
Akarana comes alongside the boarding ladder, and once he has the nod
from the coxswain and crewman he takes two short steps and starts
climbing. Once the pilot is half way up the ladder the Akarana
pulls clear.
Our run to the pilot
station was typical of most days. The pilot boat transited the distance in
a very short time, and as the container ship was approaching, once abeam
she turned towards the ship and came alongside neatly below the ladder
positioned port side 2m above the water.
Our return journey was
equally as quick and efficient. Clearly the management and crew had a lot
of input into the design specifications of this new craft, from the
electronics to the operating procedures, comfort, health and safety. We
believe this pilot boat would be one of the most up-to-date modern and
efficient of her type in work today.
The Akarana is fitted with two 25" x 33.5" -
5 blade tiger propellers.
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