There is no doubt that marine pilotage is one of our primary safeguards to ensure shipping gets safely in and out of our ports; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 day a year. Developing and maintaining this specialised skill set is vital to ensuring economic prosperity as well as environmental protection of our harbours, ports and reefs.
As highlighted in DCNs June edition, the profession of pilotage in Australia is in a period of change with evolving challenges particularly around recruitment and training. As the maritime regulator for Queensland, Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) is charged with ensuring that port pilotage be delivered in a safe manner that delivers to the State’s key priorities of employment, environmental protection and economic prosperity.
MSQ has worked hard to position itself for many years as a progressive, innovative and inclusive regulator of marine pilots. Over the past two years MSQ has successfully undertaken a significant restructure to realign and refocus its business priorities, increase it’s service delivery across the maritime network, and set a national benchmark for managing shipping through the challenges of COVID-19.
As with managing any strategically vital service, fostering a culture of continuous improvement as well as embracing new and emerging technologies is crucial to keeping ahead of a dynamic operating environment. In this very vein MSQ, together with AMPI introduced the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program for Queensland marine pilots in 2017 – a program that has been embraced by many Australian as well as international marine Pilots. Other initiatives such as mandatory use of Personal Pilotage Units (PPUs) and the construction and commissioning of Smartship Australia in 2010 have helped ensure MSQ continues to strive to be a world leader in this field.
To maintain momentum on this journey, and highlighting the importance of port pilotage to the State, MSQ is currently recruiting a Principal Director, Pilotage Service Delivery and Regulation to enhance our maritime expertise. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders in Queensland, and across the country, as well as with national regulatory bodies – an exciting opportunity for a progressive and experienced marine pilot.
This article was written and provided by Maritime Safety Queensland
