Unavailability of pilot boats hits shipping activity at Karachi Port

The shipping activity remained totally disturbed for two days at Karachi Port due to breakdown of the Karachi Port Trust's (KPT) ageing pilot boats. According to sources, the 18th and 19th of this month remained quite disturbing for the shipping activity at Karachi Port where over half a dozen vessels, carrying thousands of tonnes of imported cargo, had to wait berthing from dawn to dusk at the outer anchorage.
Sources told Business Recorder that at least eight vessels were stuck at the outer anchorage last Monday when the KPT, operator of the country's largest seaport, had no functional boat for sending its pilots to navigate the ships inside the harbour.
"Those ships which were scheduled to be berthed in morning tide were docked in the evening," they said. According to sources, with two of its three pilot boats, namely Marvi, Zuhra and Sara, already under repair, the KPT for quite a long time was using only one boat for the pilotage.
But, the problem worsened when the KPT authorities found even last of their pilot boats out of order on Monday. "The boat had developed some problem in the engine," they added. The situation is said to have fallen heavily on the shipping agents fearing various demurrages to be applicable in case of delay in the berthing and resultant discharging of cargo.
Desperately looking a way out to deal with the emergency, the KPT finally managed to hire a private pilot boat on Monday evening and only then a dozen of its pilots could reach the ships at the outer anchorage. Sources, however, said the KPT had now got the faulty boat repaired and it was working normally.
Normally claiming to be fully alive to the updation of its ageing floating fleet through hiring and acquiring the vessels, the KPT, however, is said to have failed in making its so far two-time tendering process for the hiring of a pilot boat a success story.
"They tendered in February but could attract only one of the 10 bidders then they extended the bid-submission date till March, but again only one participant turned up," the sources said. Strict rules and regulations is one of the reasons, sources cited for a lukewarm response of the companies towards KPT tenders.
Confirming the two-day disturbance, a KPT official told Business Recorder that the KPT had long been using its non-pilot boats for the pilotage, but heavy tidal waves on the eve of monsoon had rendered these dysfunctional. Terming the crisis "not so big", the official said the process was on for the acquisition and hiring of the pilot boats.