Marine pilots “work to rule” to hit ship movements in Cochin Port

There are reports that the berthing of a few ships got delayed on Tuesday 10 Dec morning and one vessel could not sail from the port on time.Sources in the Master Mariners Association in Cochin Port said that they have been compelled to go for such an agitational mode due to long-standing issues that remain unresolved despite repeated representations to the authorities.

The sources cited the issues with regard to long pending upgraded pay scales; inadequate compensation and anomalies in pay structure; nonimplementation of Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) scheme; manpower shortage and workload imbalance; safety and operational concerns are the reasons behind the move.

They pointed out that a pilot who resigned recently from the port is facing recovery from the benefits due to him. Pilots, despite taking on highly skilled and high-risk responsibilities, face discrepancies in their salary structure. The shortage of pilots also led to increased workloads, affecting the pilots’ ability to perform their duties efficiently.Referring to the issue of upgraded pay scales of the marine officers, the sources said the officers of all the other departments apart from Marine were upgraded two scales.

They have taken up the issue with the Shipping Ministry, noting that the pay scales of marine officers which used to be the highest among port officers in the past has eroded over the last few pay revisions and marine officers presently find themselves at lower scales than many other officers.

The sources pointed out that marine operations are the most critical and high-risk operations in any port. The higher the risk, the higher should the remuneration be, to attract and retain the best professionals.

Prakash Iyer, chairman of Cochin Port Users Forum pointed out that the pilot shortage has already affected shipping lines and agencies. A delay in vessel berthing and sailing is costing dearly to the lines dearly, putting the entire shipping trade in a mess. The government and the port management should take urgent steps to resolve the issues amicably.

With Vizhinjam Port ready to start its full-fledged operations by the end of this month, he said any delay in berthing and sailing of ships from Cochin Port will prompt shipping lines to skip their operations from here.