This would be brilliant if it
wasn’t for the fact that the securing points on the exterior of ZHEN HUA 10 can actually only take 30 tonnes, meaning anything greater could cause the points to detach from the vessel and land on the tugs.

But, as we are experienced pilots, we worked as a team and were aided by a great deal of pre planning. We were also helped by some very expensive PLA navigation equipment and given stellar assistance by meticulous VTS officers who closely monitored river traffic. Pilots are used to working within very tight parameters. But a crew spends months at sea with lots of safe water all around them. This seemed apparent at one point during the job, when the Captain became a little concerned about how close we were to a buoy on the starboard side. I assured him that the distance was exactly as it should be. I resisted the urge to suggest that he looks at the buoy on the other side of the ship!
His blood pressure didn’t need that input. The job, although slow, was completed safely and without drama.

In the Port of London, there are modern powerful tugs capable of pulling between 60 and 80 tonnes.

Many pilotage jobs are routine and relatively easy. But then again…
Heavy load carrier ZHEN HUA 10,
a Chinese ship, arrived off the
Port with a cargo of quayside
cranes for London Gateway earlier this summer. She presented a significant pilotage challenge and,
in light of this, the PLA put two pilots on board.

The biggest challenge posed was that the loaded cargo completely blocked any view ahead of the ship. If I or the other pilot leaned over the ends of the bridge wings we saw the length of the ship but nothing immediately ahead. To overcome this obstacle, we had to plan a long way ahead, continuously thinking about what could happen at least half an hour before it did.

Other challenges include: Keeping in mind that the cargo overhangs the ship by 75 metres (246ft in old money) so we can’t get too close to anything. Also, windy conditions could play mischief with such a tall load, blowing the ship off course and slowing it dramatically. And we had to remember also that the ship is not state of the art, it’s a former tanker that was converted into a cargo ship.