The Panama Canal expansion is scheduled to finish in June 2015 and the question arises whether pilots and other personnel of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) are prepared for the challenge of guiding the enormous Post Panamax ships through the locks.The Panama Canal Pilots affiliated with the ILWU in 2011.
According to Captain Rainiero Salas, President of the Panama Canal Pilots’ Association (Asociación de Prácticos del Canal de Panamá) that is not the case, which means that lack of training could reduce the efficiency of the Canal’s operations jeopardizing the safety of the super ships in the future.
Captain Salas said that the main problem is the way the third set of locks is going to operate. Currently the vessels enter the locks and are guided by the pull of electric locomotives or “mules”, and a ship approaching the locks first pulls up to the guide wall, which is an extension of the centre wall of the locks, where it is taken under control by the mules on the wall before proceeding into the lock. As it moves forward, additional lines are taken to mules on the other wall. With large ships, there are two mules on each side at the bow, and two each side at the stern — eight in total, allowing for precise control of the ship.
“The system for the third set of locks is totally different. Now the Post Panamax ships are going to be pulled by tug boats and guided by the ACP captains. These maneuvers will require a great deal of precision between all the parties involved and we need to practice in our simulators, which need updating as the construction progresses,” said Salas.
“The ACP is not doing enough. We have some training in the simulator and 120 to 130 of the 275 pilots have been doing maneuvers in the Culebra Cut and Gatun Lake. However a more detailed program must be put in place,” added Salas. “Some pilots travelled to the ports of Antwerp and Hamburg to practice in their simulators with Post Panamax ships, while others went to Port Revel Shiphandling Training Center, a French maritime pilotage school that trains pilots, masters, and officers on large ships like supertankers, container ships, LNG carriers and cruise ships. The facility uses manned models at a 1:25 scale on a man-made lake designed to simulate natural conditions including harbors, canals and open seas,” said the captain.
“We presented the results of that trip to the ACP on May 21 and so far we have not heard anything from them. Their approach has been too timid towards training. The only way we can maintain the low levels of accidents and canal efficiency is to have a well-rounded training program that must be implemented as soon as possible,” concluded Salas.
