MarEx Mailbag
This week’s Mailbag contains just two letters; both referencing our lead editorial from last week. I love it when I am right. Last week, our lead editorial referenced the current conditions nationwide for the small group of elite mariners known as state-licensed pilots. The editorial, entitled, “The World of the American Marine Pilot: Never a Dull Moment,” garnered more MarEx traffic and click-throughs than any other online piece in the past six months. Curiously, and given the somewhat contentious nature of the subject matter, we mysteriously got very little mail. I must be right again. You can read that article by clicking HERE. Or, you can read what two of our readers had to say about it below:
Joe, Enjoyed your report on the pilots and yes never a dull moment. Truth is, how I see it, many sectors of the maritime are experiencing major set backs because of the global economic downward spiral. It is what it is. Few are escaping the impacts of this reality. In today's newspaper, Florida is inching towards 12% unemployment, perhaps many unemployed individuals are unaccounted for? How bad is it really? Thus, why is it such an issue with the pilots, restraint is perhaps a virtue of the times? Belt tightening now can surely be conducive to better times ahead? By copy Niels Aalund, he, his colleagues and the stakeholders that facilitated the pros and cons, should be congratulated, not maybe for opposing a GALTEX rate increase but for placing the rationale into perspective and standing firm to a possible burdensome increase in a weak market. Many times there is no glory in reporting and standing up for the better benefit, yet if you believe in what you report or support then you should be respected for it. I support and respect you for the good reporting and by the way, keep up the good work. Sincerely, Bernard List MarEx Editor’s Remarks: Mr. List is a regular reader. And, we appreciate his comments. He refers in his letter to Niels Aalund, who is Vice President for Maritime Affairs at WGMA. Here is one more from a name most MarEx readers will recognize:
10/17/09 Linthicum, Md. Dear Joe: I appreciate your well written column on the today's issue of MAREX. As you well know, I totally support the concept of State Pilotage but am less concerned with how each pilot group gets increases from whatever authority. I assume that this is all part of a give and take. We can always argue about which pilotage is the most difficult and should this group be more highly compensated that another group which has an easier pilotage job. (The truckers say it best: "There is no easy run.") The most important job that the ship's pilot does is to act as the arbitrator between the interests of the shipping community and the interest of the state. Without this independent group, it would be far too easy for a company (passenger vessels come to mind first due to the fixed nature of their arrival and departure schedules) to order the Captain or intimidate the Captain into bring the ship into or out of a given port. That is why the state pilot is important. In conclusion, this is a fact that almost everyone overlooks when talking about State Pilotage. Yes, they like to talk about the amount of money that pilots make (a very small cost in the overall expense of running a ship) or the difficulty of the task or the nepotism that may be involved in the selection process of state pilots. Still the most important service that the state pilot provides to both the shipping community and the state itself is his role of deciding whether it is safe to bring the ships in or out of port. Regards, Tim Brown MarEx Editor’s Remarks: Captain Brown is the President of the IOMMP. He makes several points that I failed to bring up. Additionally, and since his letter and my article, the Tampa media are reporting that A study commissioned by the Florida Alliance of Maritime Organizations, whose members include cruise and cargo ship companies, has recommended that the state's harbor pilot program be restructured to allow a competitive system for hiring and paying harbor pilots. The report issued Tuesday said the average harbor pilot pay in Florida is $368,717, including a median salary of $342,498 at the Port of Tampa. The report by The Washington Economic Group of Miami suggested the pilot system be transformed from a "state protected monopoly to a competitive system that is both safe and efficient.” The first thought that came into my head when I read this article ( http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/oct/20/study-recommends-states-harbor-pilot-program-be-re/news-breaking/ ) was Captain Brown’s advice that “The most important job that the ship's pilot does is to act as the arbitrator between the interests of the shipping community and the interest of the state. Without this independent group, it would be far too easy for a company (passenger vessels come to mind first due to the fixed nature of their arrival and departure schedules) to order the Captain or intimidate the Captain into bring the ship into or out of a given port. That is why the state pilot is important.” Indeed. Beyond this, my thoughts also go to the investigative series that I wrote some time ago describing the pilot situation in Long Island Sound. For a period of time during this sordid tale, pilots there competed openly against one another in what the pilots themselves refer to as “the competition days.” The arrangement was a disaster – both in practice and in theory. Undercutting one another for available work, the conditions also pushed individuals to take chances that perhaps a more structured system might prevent. It’s one of the reasons why the “competition” system is no longer in play there. Florida's authorities ought to think long and hard before instituting such a system. We thank Captain Brown for weighing in. When he does, his comments are always worth reading. Anyone who wants to read my five-part, 2006 online investigative series entitled, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," can E-mail me at [email protected] and I will have it delivered to your in-box.