Pilots body opposes KoPT staffing plan

The proposed recruitment of 25 trainee pilots by the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has evoked a sharp response from within the organisation, with a representative body of the existing pilots threatening to cease work unless the administration withdraws the decision.

Calcutta Hooghly River Pilots' Guild (CHRPG), which represents the 55 pilots under KoPT, has come out strongly against the manpower augmentation claiming that the port already has enough pilots to navigate ships through its navigational channels.

"Once the new projects are functional, we will not need more pilots as the number of vessels coming into the port will not necessarily increase. Instead, the size of the ships will increase. We have more than enough pilots," CHRPG president P Sahay said.

KoPT proposes to expand capacity by building two separate facilities at Diamond Harbour and Salukhalli, apart from another deep draught port near Sagar Island.

The Haldia Dock Bachao Committee, however, feels that the number of ships entering the KoPT-administered facilities is slated to increase "drastically" and the existing strength of pilots is inadequate.

"KoPT has been suffering from acute shortage of around 25 pilots for the past seven years. Due to this, pilots on an average miss around 200 ship sailings per annum. As a result, vessels which miss the tide once have to wait for 4-5 days at a stretch to get the next tide with required draft. This results in trade and industry suffering demurrages on waiting ships," the committee said in a statement.

The CHRPG has also contended that the KoPT brass has taken the decision to recruit additional pilots without consulting them. “The previous (KoPT) chairmen discussed the issue before deciding the number of pilots that were to be recruited. But that did not happen this time,” Sahay said.

KoPT chairman ML Meena remained unavailable for comment.

“But we are open to further talks for resolving this issue,” Sahay added.