What the Ship (Ep79) Australian Ed | Svitzer & Unions | Ban Ships | Pilot Ladders | Cruise | Comics

[@callogic5341]

Hi Sal. Really enjoy and appreciate the amount of research and critique you put into your segments. I'm from Australia and ex maritime. I agree with you about the AMSA level of fines. They should represent the severity of the infringement. In Australia, there is Workplace, Health and Safety laws that make companies accountable for the severity of the infringement. Some fines are in the millions. This should be overlaid into maritime infringement within Australian waters.

[@gregthornton4750]

Sal just a shout out on the six oilers episode. My dad was KP class of 44 Engineer. He spent some time on active duty on an oiler in the Pacific. Not sure where or when but Im guessing sometime in 44. His Captain of the navy olier was a mustang. My dad got put in hack by the CO when the old man came back from a night on the town. My Dad was the cheng or Acheng at the time. The CO had called down to the Engine room to get the ship underway. The watch called my Dad up and he basically told the watch to disregard as the Captain was all gassed up. Apparently this was the last straw in the captains book. The first straw was that there was another commercial tanker that had pulled into port adjacent to my Dads ship. The Chief mate on this tanker was a fellow KPer. My dad and some of the other officers were invited for lunch or dinner on the Tanker. My Dad took him up on the offer. My guess is that the Captain was offended as the offer wasn't extended to the Captain of my Dads ship. Apparently this was viewed as a snub by my Dad or the Captain of the Tanker. My guess is that the King's Pointers were professional but not well understood by the black shoe Navy as they had hands on experience vice the 90 day wonders on other ships.

[@Choros22]

I'm from Australia good work. It's nice to get a bit of friendly commentary about our country and things that most of us don't know. It's not on our own media.

[@robertlevine2152]

Sal, Many, many years ago, we used air-powered pilot ladders. The pilot ladder was scary on its own. It had the normal 10' section of rope rails and wooden rungs. The ladder was raised and lowered by an air-powered winch with two 1/4" steel wires. If, for some reason, the winch failed, the pilot would be stranded somewhere between the water and the deck, with no way to climb to the deck. The winch had no redundant feature for raising the ladder. I witnessed the shipyard test of the ladder. Each rung was loaded to its safe working load plus a specified margin. The yard ran through the test memo demonstrating compliance. After the testing and before acceptance our senior inspector asked if he could try operating the ladder. He walked over to the ladder and pushed the control lever to raise the ladder. The lever broke off in his hand. He handed the lever back to the test supervisor and we walked away. Flash forward several years, I had to board using the same type of ladder at night in the Santa Barbara Channel from a small crew boat. All I could think of was the lever breaking during testing. Bob

[@linmal2242]

Scary, Bob !

[@scott6002]

Sal, thank you for this edition. As a retired Marine Pilot I am pleased that we have now seen some form of penalty although the level of these fines is insulting and fails to send the right message. We now have a severely injured Pilot who no doubt will have lasting complications from this incident……..quite possibly career ending. Had this occurred in another Australian workplace the fines would have been significantly higher under the umbrella of Workplace Legislation. A fall arrest system will never work in the dynamic Pilot transfer environment…….full stop.

[@allangibson8494]

You obviously haven’t ever used a modem dynamic fall arrest system.

[@Kevin-go2dw]

@@allangibson8494 Remember you have two vessels that may not be moving in sync, so the distance between them vertically could be increasing and then decreasing.

[@allangibson8494]

@@Kevin-go2dw And that is exactly the problem with helicopters and overhead power lines - and those guys use fall restraints. Inertia reel fall arrest systems are a thing. They kick in when you exceed the maximum downward translation speed (0.9 m/s). 30m line models are a standard product. The other alternative is climbing hooks - you have two lanyards, one is always attached to the ladder - but that requires the ladder to be structurally sound.

[@ETALAL]

It sent chills down my spine thinking about it. I have always feared being attached to the ship whilst boarding the Pilot boat. A 7 meter fall sounds like swell and seas working together to create havoc.

[@Kevin-go2dw]

@@allangibson8494 So how does it work if the distance between deck of pilot boat and the ladder is reducing due to swell (as opposed to a fall) and a moment later increasing only to decrease once more? I would let those transferring make the decision - it is their life at risk. Equipment failure is out of their control. Power lines generally do not move vertically, water vessels do.

[@sumotony]

Sal, it's great that you have such a positive view on industry ship safety.

[@andrewwoods8153]

Thanks from Aus.

[@ClissaT]

Another Aussie here. Good episode Sal, thanks! Great that we get our own every now and then. I have a very small thing to do with the first story about the tug boat and pilot boat crews V Svitzer. It's been going on so long the crews will be snowed under with backpay when it all finally is cleared and they get paid! Not that they are underpaid now. They get well paid as it is. Anything on top is pure profit. Of course, the tax office is also rubbing its hands with glee too since slightly over 50% will go as tax! The bigger the back pay the more tax they all have to pay. 😅

[@trevorzzealley2670]

Re :Concerns raised by some pilots over having to use an attached to ship life line as opposed to freeclimbing the rope ladder . I agree with those pilots , getting from the ladder to the pilot boat or vise/versa is a split second timing move . Both vessels are moving but the pilot boat maybe pitching and rolling ,not to mention in darkness or bad weather making visabilty problems , like a salt water splash to the face . I say don`t overengineer systems but do maintain what works . From experience I knew a guy who lost a leg making a jump a at night when things went wrong . They gave me his job . Looking back I`d rather he had not had that accident .

[@dket2571]

Another Aussie here, Well presented, I watch every episode.

[@scottsmith4315]

I seriously thought you were gonna say “ooh 7 meters! I can’t even tell you….. how far that is! I’m American!” Lol. Love ya Sal! Thanks for all of it.

[@steveobrien4141]

about 23 feet --ouch.

[@george2113]

It's not exact one meter is close to one yard

[@linmal2242]

Yeah, just think yards, but do you yankees use that, or only feet?

[@george2113]

@@linmal2242 in the states, Yankee is a semi polite reference to those born north of the Mason Dixon line. I can't speak for current schooling as my children weren't taught right, left, starboard, and port in school. But I grew up with feet, yards, fathoms, and the occasional angstrom.

[@Bob-Jenkins]

​@@george2113No offence intended, but most of us who are girt by sea (Aussies) refer to those from the Continental United States as "Seppos". Rhyming slang at work there, "Yankees" "Yank Tanks" "Septic Tanks" - "Seppos". We still call the Brits, "Poms". It's part of our culture, we do the same thing with our friends, and inanimate objects.

[@whya2ndaccount]

Sal, Great to see "local" coverage. Found this in your back catalogue.

[@laurenglass4514]

I really like Allison! She knew everything.

[@Lakridza67]

Hey Dr Sal, can’t wait for this episode⚓️🛳️🚢

[@jayjaynella4539]

From an Aussie here. Great to see AMSA enforcing the rules they are supposed to operate by. This must be our only corporatized government agency that is abiding by its charter. Rest of gov agencies pandering to the WEF tyrants and bypassing our Constitution and our laws with no consequences. We followers in Aus would love to meet you when you come here.

[@MrNickDrummer]

Great channel, could you maybe some day produce videos analyzing specific shipping companies, like ZIM, Maersk, Cosco, etc? Perhaps geared towards long term trends, etc... Thanks!!

[@paulblacklock2160]

Love to have you Sal, this is a really wonderful country, and yes, I'm biased!

[@brianm9962]

Really enjoyed this episode, thank you for taking time to cover shipping around the world.

[@fortressanfield4049]

There is a huge backlog in Australian ports from vessels not meeting bio security standards. I work at a terminal at the Port of Baltimore receiving and delivering for Wallenius Wilhelmsen, and some of the manufacturers (John Deere, CNH) have been forced to hire slot charters due to the lack of ship space on wwl vessels. They are hiring bulk carriers and using the ships cranes to lift RORO onto these vessels one at a time.

[@linmal2242]

Yes, we in AUS do NOT want your ugly bugs !

[@bc-guy852]

Now that was an interesting comment - (worthy of an episode segment I hope)... Can you explain the differences between 'lifeboats and life rafts' and expand on why you seem so much more inclined to use one over the other?? And - we're just going to have to get your subscriber count - and Patreon high enough to get you to that last continent Sal!

[@linmal2242]

We are here and waiting !!!

[@TheVigilant109]

Just want to say i thoroughly enjoyed your presentation on WW2TV and am now subscribed to your channel.

[@ADHJkvsNgsMBbTQe]

As someone who enjoyed technical climbing and ice climbing when I was younger, and who has also been trained in use of roof safety harnesses, I am a little surprised that there isn’t some kind of belay or fall-arrest system for pilots. Seems like a harness that the pilot owns plus a good cable system (perhaps with quick release capability) might be useful.

[@MrDschubba]

Was talking to a friend about this recently and suggested the same. He is a harbour pilot. He suggested there are a whole raft of safety issues associated with having a secondary line or backup. The worst issue is the inability to quickly detach from the ladder and the consensus is the safest option is just to use the ladder.

[@allangibson8494]

@@MrDschubba Fall arrest systems don’t attach to ladders - they attach to separate static lines. Quick disconnects are standard parts of the systems.

[@linmal2242]

Common Sense

[@grahamfrench9874]

Sal. Thanks for the ‘ down-under’ edition. Australia’s weak link in security is its declining crude oil refining capacity and dependence on refined products imported by sea. In the event of war and a blockade of sea routes, the country will be rapidly brought to its knees.

[@linmal2242]

Roll on electric cars, Graham , with all our sunshine we should be pushing it harder as a national defence subject !

[@captainbanjo1617]

@@linmal2242At least in the government sector. At all three levels, they should be getting every vehicle they can electrified.

[@t0masibrudoctor534]

Big fan from Aussie here.

[@oznews1]

Yes we do👍🏻✌🏻

[@clapppo]

You've gotta come Down Under, Sal!

[@linmal2242]

Or better, come down under sail ! (I read it wrongly,for a mom)

[@daff.wallace2267]

Yes an Australian is watching. Subscribed and like as you do your episodes.

[@MJTAUTOMOTIVE]

G'Day Sal, Thanks for a great episode. Cheers Mate.

[@Polano11]

Thanks from Australia.

[@ErikssonTord_2]

Been on a tor Line ferry that caught fire in the North Sea, and while the passengers were herded onto the rear deck, the crew did not manage to put the fire out. The first assistant ship was a gigantic Soviet tanker, that just waited half a mile or so away incase the passengers had to get off the ferry, which happily wasn't needed, although passengers died in the fire. Eventually a West-German destroyer sent over a firefighter team, after the crew had fought the fire for close to 12 hours. Five guys, heavy-duty firefighters, and an officer, found the source and eventually killed off the fire. I was a civilian part-time firefighter at the time and I met a British firefighter on deck, on his way back to the UK. We couldn't help as we didn't know our way around the ship, nor had the right gear. The ferry never made it to the UK, by the way, as it went to Denmark instead, to unload the the passengers and cars, motorbikes, and lorries.

[@daviddellit8344]

Thank you from Australia. Interesting.

[@gus473]

Always informative, Sal! Thanks! Will you be doing something on possible offloading of deteriorating oil storage vessel of Yemeni coast? NYT story says they may be getting at it soon! 🤞😎✌️

[@wgowshipping]

That story is developing with SMIT arriving on scene. I will follow up.

[@gus473]

​@@wgowshippingLooking forward to it! Thanks in advance! 😎✌️

[@Kevin-go2dw]

Thank you for this addition. As part of OH & S, I have learnt that in Victoria, Australia a fall from 2 meters can cause serious injury or death, so 7 meters could easily be fatal. The fines I would consider light but wonder if it will make a difference to the line or industry.

[@pbear6251]

A few years ago I watched a program on loading iron ore on bulk carriers on the northwestern area of Australia north of Perth. The pilots used helicopters to get the pilots on and off the bulk ships . Why is there not more of this happening at the major ports of the world?

[@cestmoi1262]

I watched a pilot get off the Bremen (32,l000 ton) onto the pilot boat in the English Channel with forty foot waves. These guys risk their lives more often than the police.

[@roderickcampbell2105]

Bonjour Moi. That is a scary story! I know the pilots are in risky jobs, but forty foot waves? I watched a show with a pilot out of San Diego USA who said don't do this for a living.

[@cestmoi1262]

@@roderickcampbell2105 The captain was debating if we should leave the harbor because of the bad weather. In the Atlantic we had Windforce 12 and arrived a day late in NY. December 12th - 19th, 1960

[@firstlast1047]

The ladders are strong. I delivered a relief chief eng to a ship. I had a small 30 ft launch, less than 50 GT. I was backing and filling along side waiting for the old chief to disembark. I was using the outside steering station. I glanced astern. A 3ft swell was running. My stb stern rose. The stbd horn cleat rose between two rungs of the pilot ladder. When my stern dropped I envisioned the pilot ladder being ripped from the ship. (Thinking, how much is a new one) There was a loud,"bang" Nothing fell. The AB on watch looked down at me in puzzlement. The chief later descend ed with no problems. At my homeport I discovered one sheared off horn of the stern cleat. It was a cheap porous aluminum sand casting. Re: pilot falling on deck. Our company policy when delivering personnel was to pull away from the ladder when they were ascending and standoff, if possible, until the last minute when decending. I only provided launch service.

[@1337flite]

Police don't risk their lives. They have extensive safety protocol and absolute discretion. A better analogy might be "risk their lives more than a Russian private at Kherson".

[@DJ99777]

That was great. Thanks.

[@jeffreybohren7050]

Love your un biased info with the pma and ilwu! A lot of crazy stuff is happening on the west coast port! Apparently labor negotiations were going well until the pma said no raises or retro pay since last contract. Please fill us in! Lots of news articles coming out

[@davidash2727]

Great site.

[@captainbanjo1617]

It is further from east to west Australia than Instanbul to Gibraltar. As a result, there are relatively few places to go if you run into trouble. Add to that the comparatively small population, which means a small coast guard/navy, and environment issues such as the need to protect the Barrier Reef and these laws become a proactive strategy to minimise naval disasters.

[@linmal2242]

Thankyou Cap'n !

[@crunchytheclown9694]

i saw that episode of ww2tv, great presentation

[@wgowshipping]

Thank you!

[@thatsme9875]

Sal, part of the reason for Australians to take longer cruises may be that in general, most Aussies enjoy four weeks paid leave every every year, whereas countries such as Canada and the USA only get two weeks?

[@SteveShilling-y6u]

Hey Sal, ifn you do make it "down under " , come visit us in Hobart ,cheers .

[@JohnR-NZ]

Hi Sal, a little update on the Shilling situation here in Wellington NZ, all hell has broken loose now that the vessel has been secured at a berth here and the Harbour Master along with Maritime NZ has called for the ship owners to come to Wellington and also Marine Inspectors from Singapore to come and inspect the ship - mainly the state of the main engines - as it seems that the repairs carried out were not in line with what Maritime NZ had been told and that information was forwarded to the Singapore authorities for what was supposed to be a one way voyage to Singapore and permission to sail had been granted on that basis, and we know how far it got on that journey, isn't it always interesting when people don't the rules as laid down, and it will now be costing someone with berthage fees $$$$$$. 😱😱😱

[@almirria6753]

Now I would have thought you would be bringing your full bunker gear to include your scba & the same amount of gear for your wife as well, because I know that you would be leading the charge to go deal with any fire or injury situatons that come about while you are on a ship, Capt. Sal.

[@tapalmer99]

Right around 13:30 the point about the safety harness... I race cars and in every race car from the teeniest tiniest right up to Indy Formula 1 NASCAR LeMans whatever we have either a five or six point harness that in a fraction - and I mean a fraction - of a second we can get out of them. Either you just slap the Buckle in the middle of your torso and all the belts release, others have a small lever. You just pull it to one side or the other and all the belts immediately release.

[@linmal2242]

That says a lot; more focus on race car driver safety than a pilot boarding a bulk carrier, freighter, cruise !

[@1337flite]

$35,000 worth of fines is a joke. If this was a land based work place I reckon the fines would have been way higher. Although I ackowledge the conviction mght affect the masters employment and future emoloyment, but the corporate fine was a joke. (Aussie here).

[@janice8514]

Congratulations on 100K!

[@luke6575]

Im from Brisbane australia 🇦🇺 love ya Sal. We have a spare room and plenty of beer for you

[@linmal2242]

No, no not the 4 X !

[@luke6575]

@@linmal2242 🤣🤣🤣 Nothin wrong with Fosters 🤔🤔🤔

[@robster3323]

Sal please demonstrate your pilot safety rope idea - video idea.

[@SuperDave_BR549]

Hey Sal, this can't be the Australian Edition..... you're still right side up.

[@linmal2242]

No, it is all of us standing on our heads !

[@AllNighterHeider]

You had it right in the context you were using manpower denotes natural man and not gender, whereas person denotes an association, corporation, partnership, trustee etc. Me personally, i dont want any lines attached to me, even on a pilots ladder. My safety is between my ears not worn on me somewhere. I do agree that teethers should be available. Thanks Sal

[@jeffbangkok]

I'm late again. Good afternoon Sal

[@Thepuffingyank]

sal i think that only reason that pilot is alive, besides landing on the pilot boat, is that he was going down the ladder. here's my reasoning, you are least likely to suffer a spinal injury if you can tuck your head and possibly use your arms. plus you are already looking down. you can see what's going to happen how many feet are you going to fall before you look down. i doubt you have done nothing other than flail your arms. you know all it takes is a fall of 5 to 7 feet in the right circumstances, though rare. also, mustard ? is that grey poupon? or french's ?

[@mackenziemoseley2055]

Anyone that chooses to fall on a pilot boat over a fall into the water needs to better understand fall injuries from falls onto hard surfaces and onto hard protrusions. Some pilot stations are a long way (and time) from a proper trauma center hospital, and some crews have pretty minor first aid certification. Pilots have a long way to go to improve their own safety- wearing helmets and closed cell floatation would be good starts. Tough to keep your airhole above the water when unconscious, likely going to get hit in the head a few times by the pilot boat during recovery in big swells too. Inflatible lifejackets are pretty fragile to rub down the side of a barnacle covered ship in ballast and then get smacked a few times during recovery by the pilot boat. Not to mention proper maintenance and failure rates of automatic inflators.

[@crapmalls]

Yarrrr Gday Mateys

[@paullough4946]

The words; Australia, Ship and Convicts all sounds vaguely familiar...

[@linmal2242]

The old WWF (Waterside Workers Union) was always a militant outfit in AUS , going right back to the 2nd World War, when they would not load/unload ships, the Army had to do it. But then the Soviet Union was attacked by Germany, the Axis powers, and the Union flipped immediately as its mentor/champion was being at war with Hitler ! That union was always a Soviet aligned mob until it split in the 1956 invasion of Hungary by the Russians, and again in '67? with Czechoslovakia !

[@hanabadah5037]

Waiting for your thoughts on the west coast ports shut down

[@chrisvandecar4676]

Does the Pilot and the crew of the pilot ship work for the same outfit or are both contracted separately?

[@wgowshipping]

The pilot is employed by the port.

[@redjacc7581]

cool

[@Darkravien333]

Just wait, westcoast is about to get lit.

[@wgowshipping]

Working on that right now.

[@steveobrien4141]

As a retired british merchant navy officer , and also a cruiser , i find it hard to understand the casual attitude of passengers to the safety drill. try telling anyone that was on the the costa concordia that safety is not important.

[@laurenglass4514]

You mentioned the stranded ship in Ukraine did the crew ever get rescued and paid?

[@stephenallen4374]

Australia's just getting started Australia's going to be very busy in the next 50 years🎉 here comes the money 🤑

[@theknifedude1881]

$5500! Why bother. Let the Master spend a month in jail. Or maybe just drop him over 22’ onto a deck. That fine is meaningless!

[@seymourpro6097]

The Australians may have laws to protect workers but just wait til some ship physically or chemically damages the Barrier Reef.

[@linmal2242]

One or two have; at cost to them.

[@Name-ot3xw]

Thumbnail is upside down mate.

[@tapalmer99]

A 20-foot fall may not seem like a lot but anything 15-feet and more you're capable of dying

[@linmal2242]

Six point one metres is not nuffin !

[@laurenglass4514]

Knew there was a reason I don’t go on cruise ships

[@linmal2242]

More than one!

[@eliasthienpont6330]

🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁LION c LIKE No. 733

[@carolinafrog4365]

according to Google, 7 meters is ~23, that in mind, i took a "fall with injuries" from "only" 13ft, landed on concrete, on my butt, and managed to shatter both heels, flatten both foot arches, compacted my entire spine vertically, and "melted" (shattered) my right shoulder, elbow and wrist, 9yrs later, the spine is still a trainwreck! falls SUCK! ropes might cost you a few grand, but just 2yrs of physical therapy and 5 surgeries..... at a total of $550,000.00 .... ROPE IS CHEAPER! my 2x/yr spine care visits are $15k each!.. times 9 years! fines need to be higher, safety needs to be higher, and FFS! ropes are too damned cheap compared to one ER visit!!!

[@CigarAttache]

No spoof Australian intro?? lol

[@Syndr1]

Hi Sal, It's always good to know what's going on Down Under. 🍤 📛

[@buckstarchaser2376]

Seems like a trivial task to make a boatload of money, simply building safety cranes that self-center themselves over the pilot boat, and raise/lower with the waves, using a commodity laser range finder. Using a safety harness and automatic crane (that can take some of the weight while climbing the ladder too) would make pilot transfers so simple, easy, and safe, that any clumsy oaf could safely take these jobs. If you loose your grip, the "indoor rock wall proven" safety clutch stops your fall, and can even transfer incapacitated crew, or even lift some underway relief supplies for 'when' we have more lockdowns in the future.

[@linmal2242]

There is some sense.

[@alanpage8911]

Aussie Aussi Aussi Oi Oi Oi!

[@linmal2242]

Save it for the fussball !

[@laurenglass4514]

Pilot safety , question why would they get on a rotted rope. Love it when you’re segwaying “all right!”

[@randomdude8202]

I am not saying people should turn communist, and I know that is the first thing people will come up with when I say this. But maybe some stuff should be controlled by government, or at least owned by a local company. Now New Zealand is mentioned, I probably left a similar comment before at this channel. It is frustrating examples like this proving "invisible hand of market" is a bs only reported on niche places like this, where very few can see.

[@redjacc7581]

hobbit land doesnt count.

[@kai990]

Austria, Coalas and winter sports, mountains and kangaroos, what a weird country.

[@sumotony]

I agree Austria is such a weird country in Europe.

[@callogic5341]

Sorry mate, I just have correct your grammatical errors. Even though we are upside down over in Australia, grammar is still right side up. 👍🏻😂 So, Australia, Koalas, Rugby, Rugby Union, Australian Rules, and we have hills compared to European mountains. And yes, we are unusual. 👍🏻

[@allangibson8494]

Of course you could go to Ireland and see kangaroos in the snow (Ireland has a feral Kangaroo population)…

[@linmal2242]

@@allangibson8494 well we have a few in the 'High Country' (Ha)

[@BradHartliep-kn9ud]

Hey #SAL: Tell the #Port of #Oakland to hire #BradHartliep as their #PortMaster - I get #Employees and have the Port Operating by July 4th, 2023 ..