MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: The Star

The reliance of pilots on sophisticated technological devices would further require ports to come up with their own more-updated versions instead of relying on less-frequent ENC's from a central agency.

This was the view of Dutch-based Quality Positioning Services (QPS) director Bert Jeeninga who was in Port Klang to demonstrate the use of the Qastor pilot system.

The device assists pilots to guide vessels to berth more accurately and is now available in the country through local distributor Amp Corp (M) Sdn Bhd.

Jeeninga said there was increasing pressure on ports these days to accommodate bigger ships that needed deeper drafts and this required pilots to have accurate information.

"The medium to provide such accuracy is ENC's and with the use of tools like the Qastor pilot unit, the trend would be for ports to come up with their own charts.

"The hydrographic and navigational conditions of the channels change with buoys shifting and siltation.

"Although most ports would have such a database it is usually stored in computers on land whereas the Qastor pilot unit allows ENC's to be incorporated into the hand-held computer that pilots can carry when they board ships," he said.

Jeeninga however dismissed suggestions that such units would make the function of port pilots redundant.

"There is no replacement for local knowledge as vessel masters may only call a particular port once a year or once in two years.

"These units are meant to complement the job of the pilot, captains and vessel traffic systems," he said.

The components of the system included a global positioning system (GPS) transponder and a hand-held pen personal computer that pilots had to carry when they boarded vessels.

"The transponder can be placed on deck or on the bridge wing and the information will appear on the hand held PC using telemetry link.

"Among the details that are captured include the speed of the ship up to a few centimeters (cm), rate of turn and how fast the ship is turning, accurate position in relation to ENC and other information about the behaviour of the ship.

"With this, pilots would know the ship's behaviour and allow them to take proactive measures, especially in marginal conditions such as rain and storms.

"For example, tankers that are berthing at oil terminals need to approach at a rate of six cm per second and this unit would assist by providing accuracy."