Supertanker Pilots

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Khalid M. Al-Dukeer

Khalid A. Al-Watban

Mohammed J. Al-Hajri

Hamad S. Balharith

Saleh N. Al-Sheetah

Ali S. Al-Ghamdi

Saleh S. Al-Kully

Captains courageousSaudi Aramco harbor pilots tame tankersWRITTEN BY KYLE PAKKA PHOTOS BY FAISAL I. AL-DOSSARY AND HADI A. AL-MUKAYYL

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ike a falcon high on the face of a cliff, Capt. Saleh N. AlSheetah stands on the open bridge wing of the Namur, his sharp eyes judging the slowly narrowing gap between the side of the crude oil tanker and the fenders of berth 20 at Saudi Aramcos Ras Tanura Sea Island Terminal.Al-Sheetah must gently bring the Namur all 333 meters (1,093 feet) and 300,000 tons of her up against the fenders, called dolphins, and in close alignment with the loading arms of the berth. I tell my pilots to land on the berth as if you were going to trap an egg between the ship and the dolphin without breaking it, chief harbor pilot Khalid A. Al-Watban says.

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The bow of the supertanker Namur edges toward the loading arms of a berth at the companys Sea Island Terminal at Ras Tanura. Another tanker, fully loaded with crude oil, crosses in front. Every day, about five million barrels of crude oil are loaded at Ras Tanura alone. Saudi Aramco harbor pilots are a key link in the energy supply chain, guiding supertankers to and from company terminals. Above inset: Harbor pilots usually board tankers by climbing a rope ladder up the ships side, but can also climb gangways such as this one.

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Al-Sheetah, drawing upon his nearly quarter century of experience in these waters, is relying mainly upon the current and the wind to propel the Namur onto the dolphins. A world thirsty for oil is waiting for Al-Sheetah and his fellow harbor pilots, who are all Saudis, to safely berth tankers at one of Saudi Aramcos terminals. Saudi Aramco harbor pilots are entrusted with steering the massive vessels into berths at company ports on the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea, after taking over the helm from the tanker masters who piloted them to the Middle East from around the world. The whole world is waiting for our oil, Al-Watban says, underscoring the importance of the job performed by harbor pilots. Every day, about 5 million barrels of oil are loaded on ships at the Ras Tanura Terminal alone (a total of about 7 million barrels of oil a day are loaded on tankers at all Saudi Aramco terminals), but the oil isnt going anywhere if company harbor pilots cant bring the ships safely in, and out, of the terminals. Al-Sheetah and his colleagues are well aware of the responsibility that lies on their shoulders. But now, as the Namur closes on the dolphins, Al-Sheetah, relaying orders through the ships master at his side or over his hand-held radio, radiates calm, cool professionalism. Saudi Aramco is accustomed to measuring its business in millions of barrels and thousands of tons, but now it comes down to inches the distance between the Namur and the waiting berth covered at a snails pace. RIGOROUS TRAINING Al-Sheetah, a senior pilot, holds a class 18 license, the highest rating in the company and the result of a long odyssey of schooling, hands-on training and rigorous examinations.

To become a certified harbor pilot at the lowest rating, category 4, takes about seven to 10 years of training. The odyssey begins when newly hired employees choose harbor pilot as a potential career. Some employees, such as Al-Sheetah, whose uncle spent 42 years with Saudi Aramco and retired as a port captain, know about harbor pilots and want to be one, while others know very little about the companys Pilotage Operations.

Capt. Saleh S. Al-Kully, who currently holds a category 13 license, joined the company in 1993 through the College Degree Program for Non Employees. Even though his father wanted him to be an engineer, Al-Kully had other ideas: I wanted to do something different, something new and challenging. A couple of friends in the Marine Department liked their jobs and inspired Al-Kully to join them. I wasnt planning on being a pilot, says Capt. Mohammed J. Al-Hajri, but I heard about the uniqueness of the job. Al-Hajri now holds a category 18 license. Also now rated a category 18, Capt. Hamad S. Balharith at first wanted to be an electrical engineer, but the company had plenty of them, and a Harbor Pilot career was suggested instead. The first of what will be many exams is a simple one: Can the employee swim? If not, he attends a five-day swimming course.

What follows next is school, but not just any school: nautical college in the United Kingdom. Typically, candidates are sent to either South Tyneside College in South Shields or to Warsash Nautical Institute at Southampton. (Al-Sheetah, who joined the company in 1978, became a harbor pilot the traditional way: He worked his way up the pilotage ladder, beginning with water taxis, tugs and then bigger ships, all the way to supertankers. Al-Watban, who first went to sea in 1975 with a shipping affiliate of OPEC, attended Fleetwood College in Blackpool, England. Al-Watban spent 12 years at sea, becoming the first Saudi Aramco pilot to earn a Class 1 Master Mariner Certificate

Balharith boarded his first ship in 1990. The ship was as big as an island, he says. The ship, with Shell U.K., was fully laden and sailed from the Arabian Gulf to the United States. It was an amazing experience, Balharith says. Al-Kully boarded his first ship while it was in transit in the Suez Canal. A water taxi pulled up alongside the huge ship while it was moving and he clambered up a rope ladder to the deck. I couldnt believe I did it, he says. When Al-Hajri boarded his first ship, a Shell tanker in the U.A.E., It looked to me like a mountain, he says. All of Al-Hajris training was with Shell, before company cadets began serving on Vela ships.

Opposite left: Capt. Khalid M. Al-Dukeer is the Ras Tanura Port Captain, responsible for the companys Terminal Pilotage Operations at Ras Tanura, Juaymah, Jiddah, Rabigh, Duba and Jizan. Opposite right: Capt. Khalid Al-Watban, who first went to sea in 1975, was the first Saudi Aramco pilot to earn a Class 1 Master Mariner Certificate of Competency, which allows him to command any type of oceangoing ship, be it tanker, cargo ship or passenger liner. Right: Capt. Al-Sheetah and the master of the Namur shake hands after a successful berthing.

of Competency, which allows him to command any type of oceangoing ship, be it tanker, cargo-ship or passenger liner.) The entire program consists of five phases, with the first phase a one-month basic induction course where the students, now called cadets, learn the basics of seamanship. Phase 2, perhaps the most difficult for many, is a year at sea. Since the mid-1990s, company employees have spent their sea training aboard ships operated by Vela International Marine, Ltd., Saudi Aramcos subsidiary tanker fleet. We start from zero at sea, Al-Kully says, with cadets performing traditional basic tasks such as swabbing the decks and scraping paint. They work for a week or two in the engine room and stand watches and gradually begin to work on the bridge, assisting with loading and discharging cargo and learning the basics of navigation. It was a very difficult experience, Balharith says. I was the only Saudi on the ship, but I was treated very well. Thats sea life: People work with you and help each other. They know its difficult.

Going away to a life at sea made me more independent and self-reliant, Al-Hajri says. These characteristics are readily apparent in all the pilots. Getting used to the international mix of people, different customs and the strange food aboard ships and at the maritime colleges was a challenge for all the cadets. The cadets

Far left: Harbor pilots calculate myriad factors while berthing: tide, winds, weather, cargo, crew, ship and others, relying on supertankers sophisticated technology and, most of all, their pilots sense, honed from years of training. The sequence of photos shows the delicacy and precision with which several hundred thousand tons of tanker come to rest against the fenders of a Sea Island Terminal berth.

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Pilot vessels transport harbor pilots to waiting supertankers at the companys busy terminals.

had a lot of help, both at sea and on shore. One of the instructors at Southampton was a former company employee, and he became like a father to us, Al-Hajri says. This age-old mariners tradition of helping out the new guys has taken root with the Saudi cadets. We did the same when we came back here, Balharith says. We looked after the new pilots. When someone looks after you, you do the same for others. Its very important, and this is the beauty of working at sea. Al-Hajri and all the cadets were aware that they were representing their country to the other cadets and sailors. I felt proud to represent my country, Al-Hajri says. After their first year at sea, the cadets enter phase three: back to their nautical college for a year where they study the

theory of navigation, charts, electronics, ships stability, radar, meteorology, survival at sea and fire fighting. They also learn the Laws of the Sea, equivalent to the rules of the road: what ships do when they approach each other, rights of way, etc. These rules are established by the International Maritime Organization, or IMO. Everybody at sea knows these rules and knows what the other person will do under any circumstances, Al-Kully says.

Harbor Pilots & FacilitiesTHE TERMINAL PILOTAGE OPERATIONS DIVISION The Terminal Pilotage Operations Division, headed by the port captain, Capt. Khalid M. Al-Dukeer, has five units: Ras Tanura Pilotage Operations, Western Region Pilotage Operations, Tankship Technical Support, Quality Assurance and the Vessel Traffic System Operations. Captain Al-Dukeer manages and coordinates Piloting Operations at the Saudi Aramco Crude, Products and RLPG loading facilities at Ras Tanura, Juaymah, Jiddah, Rabigh, Duba and Jizan. He provides technical and advisory services to the manager of the Terminal Department and consultant functions on navigational matters to the various Saudi Aramco departments and outside agencies. Al-Dukeer is a graduate of Hull College in the United Kingdom, joining Saudi Aramco in 1980 after working for Arab Maritime Petroleum Co. and Kuwait Shipping Co. In 1983, he was fully licensed and authorized to berth any size ship at Ras Tanura. In 1989 he worked as a senior harbor pilot, working his way up to supervisor of the Terminal Technical Support Unit, Global Oil Spill Coordinator and check pilot.

The pilotage service at Saudi Aramco was initially established in 1939, mainly to pilot ships at the Port of Ras Tanura. However, on June 1, 1995, the pilotage service at Rabigh Port was added to the Terminal Pilotage Operations Divisions scope of operations. In January 1, 1996, further additions to the scope of the division were implemented by including the pilotage operations at the ports of Jiddah Refinery, Jizan Bulk Plant and Duba Bulk Plant. Currently, the division controls pilotage operations, towage services, oil pollution investigation and coordination of response among all Saudi Aramco concerned organizations, tanker safety inspections, vessel traffic management services, port conservancy duties and shipping regulatory functions at the Port of Ras Tanura. The port is comprised of Ras Tanura Terminal, Juaymah Single Point Mooring (SPM) Terminal (operated by the Terminal Department) and Juaymah NGL Terminal (operated by Juaymah Gas Plant Department); the Port of Rabigh (operated by Rabigh Refinery Department); the Port of Jiddah (operated by Jiddah Refinery Department); the Port of Jizan and the Port of Duba (operated by Western Region Distribution Operations Department). The Ras Tanura Pilotage Operations Unit is headed by chief harbor pilot Capt. Khalid A. Al-Watban. This unit is responsible for the safe berthing and unberthing of ships at Ras Tanura and Juaymah. The Western Region Unit is headed by Capt. Samair J. Hariri, chief pilot, and it includes the ports of Duba, Jiddah, Jizan and Rabigh.

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The year at school is followed by another year at sea, where the cadets concentrate on navigation and cargo operations. They also study intensely and write detailed reports. In this day and age of satellite navigation, some people might wonder why cadets still study traditional navigation. Al-Hajri knows why. In Galveston, Texas, lightning hit the navigation bridge of his ship and they lost their radar and satellite navigation capabilities. Using a sextant, they sailed across the Atlantic to Gibraltar on traditional sun and star position fixing as well as dead reckoning, just like the old days. They arrived in Gibraltar right on target. That trip was a highlight of my career, Al-Hajri laughs. Its back to marine college for phase five, another year of demanding study. At end of this phase, provided they have passed all their classes and performed well at sea, cadets take an oral exam. If they pass, they earn a Class 2 Second Mates license, good for pilotage of cargo, container, chemical and tanker ships. The sailors return to Saudi Aramco, but they arent harbor pilots yet. There is no international degree for a harbor pilot license because every harbor is different. We start from zero again, Al-Kully laughs.

Training begins with a two-year orientation program, followed by an open-ended period as an assistant pilot. They rotate through various positions six months on the tugboats that assist harbor pilots in mooring tankers, for example. They ride along on tankers with licensed pilots and carefully observe operations. At some point, each pilot decides when hes ready to take the exam for his first license, category 1: berthing ships at Ras Tanuras North Pier. Its a matter of confidence, Al-Kully says about knowing when to take the exam. When ready, the pilot submits his paperwork and records to a pilotage examination committee. Then comes the shipboard exam. The pilot berths a ship, observed by a check pilot who, if the trainee has performed well enough, makes a recommendation for the granting of the license. Thats the critical moment, Al-Watban says, when the ship touches the dolphin. Then you see if a guy has what it takes to be a harbor pilot. Every pilot remembers the ship on which he first earned his harbor pilot license. For Al-Kully, it was the el-Bagha. When asked how it felt to dock the ship and pass the exam, Al-Kully hesitates for a long moment and finally shakes his head. I cant describe the feeling, he says. There arent

The Division has three port control centers equipped with sophisticated Vessel Traffic Management Systems to manage the movement of ships in the navigation channels and to coordinate berthing assignments. The Vessel Traffic Operations Unit, headed by a supervisor, Thiyab M. Al-Najrani, has a total of 23 Vessel Traffic System Operators, 14 of whom are assigned to Ras Tanura, with the remaining operators assigned to Jiddah and Rabigh. SAUDI ARAMCOS HARBOR PILOTS There are 47 harbor pilots at various stages in their careers in Saudi Aramco, 30 of whom work at Ras Tanura Port. The remaining 17 work in the Western Region Ports and Terminals. Harbor pilots main duties involve piloting ships into and out of Saudi Aramcos ports and terminals (with the exception of Yanbu), supervising cargo loading at Juaymah Crude Terminal, performing safety inspections of tankers in the ports, investigating pollution and other safety related incidents, and

screening tankers prior to their acceptance for loading at Saudi Aramco terminals. Harbor pilots are in charge of maneuvering every ship that comes into any Saudi Aramco port, without exceptions, including tankers belonging to the companys shipping subsidiary, Vela International Marine, Ltd. Harbor pilots are easily identifiable in their official uniform, crisp white shirts and navy blue pants, similar to British Merchant Navy uniforms. Saudi Aramco pilots are unlike pilots anywhere else, says Capt. Hamad S. Balharith, supervisor of the Tankship Technical Support Unit. Usually, pilots are just responsible for berthing and unberthing ships. In Saudi Aramco, in addition to those duties, we are responsible for the safety of our loading facilities and ships throughout their visits; perform safety inspection on arrival; and, during

The Ras Tanura Port Control Center is the nerve center for the movement of ships in and out of the Juaymah and Ras Tanura terminals.

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any words to describe what its like. Al-Hajri says, The moment I stepped on the bridge, I thought, Oh my God, Im going to bring this ship in alone? When I stepped off the ship and I was on the jetty and looking up at the ship, I asked myself, Did I bring that ship in? Al-Hajri shakes his head. You feel proud, every time. The first time I berthed a tanker on my own, Al-Sheetah recalls, I was very proud proud to be a Saudi. TRIAL BY FIRE Each license category demands the same qualifications: A pilot observes another pilot who is licensed at the desired level for a number of months, and when he decides he is ready, submits his documentation and takes the trial by fire exam. In the Eastern Region of Terminal Operations, the three highest levels of license are berthing at Sea Island. Once a pilot has reached category 18 in the Eastern Region, he then must earn his rating in the Western Region. The highest rating the pinnacle of harbor piloting at Saudi Aramco is earned at the port of Rabigh, where the navigation channel is extremely narrow and ships have to be swung completely around to berth stern-first.

Despite their massive size, tankers are delicate, AlWatban says, and have to be handled with kid gloves. The variables at play in every berthing are legion: Wind, current and tides all play crucial roles in a harbor pilots calculations, as do the condition of the ship, its draft, cargo, trim, engine and navigation aids, not to mention the attitude and performance of its master and crew. Winds are a serious factor in berthing. At Ras Tanuras Sea Island, boats usually berth facing north, into the prevailing winds of the Gulf coast. But, if the winds are easterly or southeasterly, they become a problem because the sheer height and size of tankers superstructures causes them to act as sails. Winds blowing from the east push ships into the east side of the Sea Island dolphins, and it isnt safe to put a tug between the berth and the ship. Pilots never work against the elements, Al-Watban says. For example, the tides at Ras Tanura run around 1.5 knots. If a tanker is trying to unberth when the tide is against it, its very difficult to pull a ship away from the dolphin. You can have four tugs, two forward and two aft, pulling, and they may not be able to pry a tanker away from the dolphins, Al-Watban says. However, if you

the ships loading, conduct oil spill investigations and participate in the clean-up operations, document all ship deficiencies and violations, act as loading masters and resolve cargo ship-shore differences at Juaymah Crude Terminal. And, with the passage of the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS) addendum to the International Maritime Organizations (IMO) Safety of Life at Sea Convention, the senior harbor pilots are assistants to the Saudi Aramco Port Facility security officer. The new code, adopted in July 2004, applies to all ports and terminals worldwide and to ships trading internationally. The codes objectives are to detect security threats and take proactive precautionary measures at Saudi Aramcos ports and terminals. In less than ten minutes during the prenomination process, Balharith says, we are tasked to screen every tanker that visits any of Saudi Aramcos terminals. This task is executed through the utilization of the newly introduced automated tanker vetting system (ATVS). The ATVS eliminated human

error, expedited the screening process and furnished a new platform to screen every tanker, taking into consideration the history of the ship, previous deficiencies with their status, age factor, number of visits and ship particulars compared to our loading facilities parameters. There is no system quite like it anywhere else in the world. (The division is looking into patenting the system.) The certification for harbor pilots is the responsibility of the Quality Assurance Unit headed by a check pilot, Capt. Mohammed S. Al-Dawood. It involves 18 categories for both Eastern and Western region ports based upon the ships tonnage and the berth location. For example, its harder to berth on the west side, or land side, of the Sea Island Terminal at Ras Tanura than the east side. Harbor pilots must go through intensive training prior to being certified. Every pilot has to pass a number of on-the-job tests by senior harbor pilots at each of the 18 levels before they can pilot a ship alone. Harbor pilots are on call-out schedule during which they normally handle four to five ship movements. However, at Juaymah, the set-up is different. The pilot handles only one ship per call but

Rising 60 m (197 feet) into the sky, the Ras Tanura Port Control Center oversees operations at the worlds largest oil shipping terminal.

he remains onboard and acts as a loading master and conducts regular safety inspections.

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Harbor pilots follow an arduous path to become certified: seven to 10 years of training, including two years spent at sea. Once they earn their Class 2 Second Mates license, they embark on the company certification program, starting with a two-year orientation program, followed by an open-ended period as an assistant pilot before they are ready to pilot ships on their own.

put three tugs aft and pry the stern away from the dolphin a little bit, the tide, which comes in at a slight angle, will naturally wedge the tanker away from pier. Al-Watban smiles. Pilots should always try to harness the elements to assist them. Pilots develop a pilot sense, something Al-Kully says only comes with experience. Every ship is different. The weather is always different. No two ships and no two maneuvers are the same. The secret in this job, Al-Watban says, is to anticipate. You have to be prepared for anything, and know how to react. Pilots have to be very sensitive, Al-Sheetah adds. Any error could lead to a disaster. We have to be flexible

to all conditions. Every assignment is different: the ship, master, crew, weather, seas, visibility, cargo every hour is different. We have to keep focused, Al-Kully says, a simple mistake can cost millions of dollars. Being a harbor pilot is a huge responsibility. As a pilot, Balharith says, we represent not only Saudi Aramco, we represent the country. We have to respect and appreciate different nationalities, different cultures and religions. PREPARATION, PREPARATION On a hot August morning, Al-Sheetah is called in to pilot the Namur, scheduled to load 414,300 barrels of Arab Medium crude oil and 696,100 barrels of Arab Heavy, for a total of 1,110,400 barrels.

SAUDI ARAMCO MARINE TERMINALS Saudi Aramco terminals on the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea load, on average, about 7 million barrels of crude oil and products each day, and receive about 4,000 oil tankers per year. The Port of Ras Tanura is the worlds largest oil shipping terminal and includes Juaymah, the Ras Tanura Sea Islands and the North Pier (a total of 20 loading berths). The port operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Sea Island and Juaymah Single Point Moorings (SPMs) are designed to accommodate ships of more than 500,000 deadweight tons (dwt); however, the maximum departure draft at Ras Tanura is 21 meters (69 ft). Sea Island now operates three islands and can accommodate six ships at one time. The depth of Sea Islands departure channel means that sometimes ships with a deep draft must wait for high tide to clear the sea bed at the departure channel. At the North Pier, crude and product tankers up to 135,000 dwt load LPG, refined products and crude. The South Pier, the first one built, is decommissioned. The biggest tankers in the world can call at Juaymah Crude Terminal, which has a depth of 30 to 32 m (98.4 to 105 ft). Tankers are moored to SPM berths and their cargo is shipped through floating hoses connected to the ships manifold. It takes about three hours to pilot a ship to the SPM. At Juaymah, pilots are ferried out to waiting tankers by helicopter and may have to be lowered to the ships main deck in a

harness when no landing zone is available. The ships are so large that a pilot on the ships bridge can lose sight of the SPM. So a pilot assistant is positioned on the ships bow to notify the pilot of the SPMs distance and angle as the ship approaches. The Ras Tanura Port Control Center (PCC) is a 60 m (197 ft) tower on a spit of land with views of the Ras Tanura Terminal and Refinery, the Juaymah Gas Plant and tank farm, and reaching out into the turquoise waters of the Gulf, the NGL trestle and SPMs. Inside the PCC are sets of consoles and display screens, all part of the Vessel Traffic Management System, which is a tracking and monitoring system for all ships and marine craft that are using or transiting the Ras Tanura Port area. The position, bearing and approach speeds of ships are monitored, along with other factors such as weather, currents, tides, and wind speed and direction. The PCC is also manned by a senior harbor pilot responsible for safe traffic within the port limits and who also coordinates ships assignments with OSPAS and ensures no delays are encountered during a ships visit. Assigned harbor pilots use the Terminal Ship Information System (TSIS), an automated system that generates a report on each ships history, details, previous deficiencies, date and time of previous visits. In addition, the TSIS records all Saudi Aramco correspondence with ship owners and off-takers pertaining to ship deficiencies and violations.

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From the first minute I am assigned a ship, Al-Sheetah says, I have to be well-prepared. Pilots check each ships file at the Port Control Center. All previous trips to company terminals and safety inspections are logged, ship deficiencies noted, and whether or not those deficiencies were corrected. There is also data on the ships deadweight, cargo, arrival and departure drafts, its suitability for the selected berth, and a host of other details. Al-Sheetah also checks tide tables, the current, wind speed, the weather forecast, the fore and aft mooring, compliance with the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) code, and checks with the ships agent about customs clearance. He then drives the short distance to Ras Tanuras North Pier, where he boards the el-Alat 10, one of three pilot boats. On the way out to the tanker, Al-Sheetah contacts the Port Control Center to make certain the tugs have been dispatched. The Namur is scheduled to load at berth 20, on the east side of Sea Island. Last-minute changes to berths are common, as Oil Supply Planning and Scheduling (OSPAS) and the PCC juggle a variety of factors such as type of product being loaded, company deadlines, which ships have finished loading and others. Al-Sheetah checks communications with the four tugs the Abqaiq, Manifa, Najmah and Tanajib waiting to rendezvous with the tanker. He assigns their positions alphabetically from fore to aft so he can easily recall where each tug is attached to the Namur. Pilots make the decision, within guidelines, about how many tugs to use. For ships 5,000 to 100,000 deadweight tons (dwt), two tugs are used; 100,000 to 150,000 dwt, three tugs; 150,000 dwt and up, four tugs. The Namur looms on the horizon, growing larger by the minute. Six other tankers are anchored, awaiting their turn. Oil tankers can weigh up to 500,000 dwt and be a quarter-mile

The Sea Island Terminal at Ras Tanura serves tankers ranging in size from 60,000 to 500,000 deadweight tons. Harbor pilots harness the tides and wind and, assisted by tugs, gently bring the enormous ships to rest in their berths.

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(402 meters) long. Like a jet landing on an aircraft carrier, berthing a tanker is a controlled crash. Built by Hitachi Zosen of Japan and formerly known as the Ichiban, the Namur, a double-hulled tanker of 298,552 dwt, entered service in 2000. She is already carrying 939,600 barrels of crude, loaded previously in Khafji, and drawing 14.8 m (48.5 ft) of draft so Al-Sheetah will have to factor these numbers into his calculations. A partially loaded ship is heavier than an empty vessel and will handle differently. Al-Sheetah radios the master of the Namur and informs him of the estimated time of arrival. The master will ready his crew to secure the tugs, prepare the gangway for the pilots landing (usually, pilots board tankers by climbing a rope ladder up the side of the ship, but today, with the seas calm and in deference to the civilian guests a photographer and a writer there is little risk in having the pilot boat come alongside). Ship masters want us to come on board and take over because we know the local waters, Balharith says. We know this ourselves from our time at sea. Its the most difficult time for a ships master, when he arrives in port, because hes used to open sea. Al-Sheetah is thinking about the route the Namur will take from its current position to its berth. The tanker is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Sea Island, and the bow of the ship is pointing south, the opposite direction from its berthing orientation. Al-Sheetah will have to bring the ship about, pivoting the tanker clockwise for the approach. There isnt a lot of room to make the maneuver. A pilot needs a Plan A, and a Plan B and C, Al-Sheetah says. You have to be thinking ahead: What if the bow tugs engine fails? What if the stern tug fails? What if the ships engine fails? The pilot boat circles the Namur once, and the tanker towers overhead. Al-Sheetah surveys her with a critical eye. He checks her draft, marked in meters on both sides of the hull, inspects the hull for damage, and makes sure the propeller is fully submerged as this will effect the ships handling. Al-Sheetah points out the white crosses painted on the sides: These mark the tugs positions. The pilot boat skipper brings his craft carefully alongside, the long gangway is lowered, and Al-Sheetah clambers up the side. TAKING THE WHEEL Up on deck, the Namurs chief officer greets Al-Sheetah, who signs the ships register and then begins his pre-berthing safety check. He and the chief officer take a tour of the tankers enormous deck, checking the manifolds (where the loading arms, called Chiksan arms, will attach) and that the anchors, mooring lines and other cables are secured. The chief officer brings along an oxygen analyzer, and

the pair check the oxygen content of the cargo tanks. The air space in the crude tanks is filled with inert gas with a very low oxygen content to maintain a nonflammable atmosphere to prevent fires. The tanks are also held under positive pressure so if a valve were opened accidentally or if the tank were ruptured, there would be no air flow into the tanks. The inspection complete, Al-Sheetah rides the ships elevator six stories up to the wheelhouse. Al-Sheetah strides into the wheelhouse and shakes hands with the master of the Namur. Welcome to Ras Tanura, Al-Sheetah says.

At the end of the day, unlike a lot of jobs, we harbor pilots feel satisfied and proud every time we disembark from a ship.

Your first 10 minutes on the bridge tell the master everything he needs to know about you, Balharith says. As pilots, we have to be competent and confident. Al-Watban agrees. The ship masters look to pilots for confidence, professionalism and trustworthiness, he says. Another crucial factor is communication. English is the international language of the sea and, as Al-Kully points out, This is one of the things you first observe: How well does the master speak English? Its very important to be clear on the bridge. People might say yes but not really mean it. Sometimes, Al-Kully says, if we want to make certain the master understands us, we draw pictures of the approach. The master of the Namur, Olivier Poswick, a Belgian, speaks English well; the rest of the crew is Bulgarian, and their English is pretty good, too. Al-Sheetah and Poswick complete their preliminary paperwork, and Al-Sheetah informs the master of his plan for bringing the ship in, including the tug-securing arrangement. The wheelhouse is expansive, with big windows on all four sides. Sea Island, where four tankers are already berthed, lies ahead. Beyond it are the Ras Tanura Refinery and its associated tank farms. The wheelhouse includes a large chart table and a series of consoles, one for radar, one for the U-shaped wheel and one for the engine room telegraph. Al-Sheetah is now in command of the Namur, and he gives orders to the wheelman or to the chief officer manning

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the engine room telegraph, and the crew member repeats the order. Dead slow, Al-Sheetah says, and the chief officer replies, Dead slow. Theres a deep, bass hum from below decks and the ship begins to move slowly ahead. The four tugs come along on the starboard (right) side. Two tugs, one fore and one aft, are for pulling the tanker, and two tugs amidships are for pushing. The mood on the bridge is calm, efficient and professional.

Today, Al-Kully says, if the wind were coming from the east, Al-Sheetah could line the ship up parallel with the berth from a greater distance away, four cables or about 900 m (3,000 ft), and then the wind would help push the ship directly into the berth. But today, with the wind blowing at 15 knots from the northeast, Al-Sheetah needs to take the ship in closer before lining it up with the berth, say two cables off. The ebb current might push the stern of the ship into the berth before the bow, so Al-Sheetah wants to come in slightly aslant, with the bow closer to the berth and the

Harbor pilots, before entering the wheelhouse, perform a pre-berthing safety check, which includes checking the oxygen content of the cargo tanks. The air space in the crude tanks is filled with inert gas with a very low oxygen content to maintain a nonflammable atmosphere to prevent fires.

As the tugs are attached to the tanker with heavy cables, Al-Sheetah radios their captains to confirm that they are secured. The Namur is slowly moving to the south of Sea Island, now off on the starboard bow. The relative movement of the Namur is difficult to gauge. The bow is 285 m (935 ft) from the bridge. Starboard 20, Al-Sheetah says to the wheelman, meaning turn the rudder 20 degrees to the right. All eyes watch the bow swing slowly around, nosing toward the north. The tanker is traveling at four knots and the current is ebbing toward the north, pushing the ship from the stern, and Al-Sheetah plans to harness it to move the ship where he wants it. Al-Sheetah plans to align the Namur parallel to the dolphins a little distance off. He doesnt want to be too close when he tries to line up the ship. You want to maintain a safe distance from the berth, Al-Kully says, in case you need to pull suddenly away. You have to balance the speed of the ship with the wind and current.

stern further away. He will get the bow in very close, and then the current will push the stern in. Not only does Al-Sheetah need to align the ship with the berth, he also must match up the manifold on the berth with the manifold on the ships deck. Al-Sheetah walks over from time to time to check the radar display and compares its readings with what his eyes tell him. His gaze roves over the large dials mounted above the central windows: ship speed forward, to port and to starboard; rudder position; engine RPM; the local time; and wind speed and direction; but the most important navigation aids are his eyes and his experience. SLOW AND PATIENT The berthing process is a slow and patient one. As the bow continues to slowly pivot toward the north, Master Poswick asks questions about life in Saudi Arabia, and he and Al-Sheetah engage in an open discussion. Pilots are also ambassadors for the Kingdom, AlKully says. Al-Sheetah calls out Midships, and the wheelman sets the rudder to zero degrees. Three hundred twenty, Al-Sheetah says, and the wheelman answers. The Namur is coming in at 3.2 knots, and Al-Sheetah calls out Slow astern. Sea Island is now about two cables away; the Chiksan arms on berth 20 look like swans with their long necks

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folded. A tanker on the opposite side of Sea Island is unberthing as the Namur comes in. Al-Sheetah radios the skipper of the Abqaiq, asking him for slack on the starboard bow. Stop and stand by on the starboard quarter, he calls to the Manifa. The Namur has slowed to less than 1.5 knots. Al-Sheetah radiates calm as the huge ship glides in closer to the berth. His eyes are bright as he checks the tugs, the berth, the movement of the bow. He walks over to the port (left) side and checks the speed and direction of the ship with stationary points on shore and on Sea Island. His eyes scan the dials. Slow astern, Al-Sheetah says, and the chief officer answers. The speed drops to one knot. Im using one tug and the current, Al-Sheetah says. Tugs are only for assistance. The Namur is coming into the berth sideways now, nearly parallel with the dolphins. The dolphins are large wooden fenders, backed by huge rubber shock absorbers. After berthing, personnel measure how far the dolphin moved from the impact of the tanker. On this dolphin, movement of two to four feet is allowable. Usually, Al-Kully says, we average two to four inches. Al-Sheetah is also now gauging the ships manifolds alignment with the shore loading arms: How far ahead or astern of the berths loading arms is the Namur? The dolphins are very close now, and the speed is less than half a knot. Al-Sheetah pours a glass of cold water and walks out onto the port wing of the tanker, accompanied by the master. From this perch, nearly 60 m (200 ft) above the sea, Al-Sheetah can see the side of the tanker, all the way out to the bow. The tanker that was unberthing a few minutes ago is now crossing over the end of Sea Island in front of the Namur, but Al-Sheetah only has eyes for the task at hand. Up here, outside the wheelhouse, the wind feels brisk, and its easy to understand how the enormous bulk of the Namurs superstructure acts like a sail. Atop the bridge is a white and red flag, a signal that a harbor pilot is aboard. Red over white, fishing at night; white over red, pilot ahead, Al-Kully recites, smiling. Stop engines, Al-Sheetah says, and the master relays the command to the chief officer over his hand-held radio and then passes along confirmation of the command back to Al-Sheetah, who is talking to his tug pilots on his radio. Just the wind and the current are moving the ship

now, Al-Sheetah says. The gap between the dolphin and the ship closes agonizingly slowly to the casual observer, but to the pilot and the master, it cant close slowly enough. At this speed, a tenth or so of a knot, the movement of the ship is imperceptible. As a pilot, you must be patient, Al-Kully says. Speed is the wrong approach in this job. Down on the ships deck, near the manifold, a crewman stands, ready to let the pilot know how far ahead or astern the ship is of the berths Chiksan arms. From time to time, Al-Sheetah casts a glance back over toward the wheelhouse where, mounted over the hatch

leading back into the wheelhouse, are two repeaters, instruments that repeat a source signal. In this case, large dials show the engines RPM and rudder position so the pilot can check to see if his orders are being carried out correctly, but like all the harbor pilots, he relies mostly on his eyes and his pilots sense. Al-Sheetah radios Abqaiq to pull the bow of the Namur further away from the forward dolphin. Because of the ships approach angle, the bow is closer to its dolphin than the stern is to its dolphin, so by pulling the bow, the ship is brought closer to true parallel. Al-Sheetah checks the wind sock atop the control room on Sea Island, gauging the direction and speed of the wind. Once, he says later, a ship was about to berth, using tugs to push it against the berth in the face of a strong wind, when the wind, in an instant, changed direction 180 degrees, forcing the ship against the dolphins before the pilot wanted. Such surprises are just another factor in a harbor pilots calculations.

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Down below on the dolphins, personnel (all Sea Island personnel are Saudi nationals) ready themselves to receive the lines from the Namur. Look, Al-Kully says after some minutes have passed, the bow is opening. There is a noticeable gap now between the bow and the forward dolphin the Abqaiq is straightening out the ship. The stern, pushed by the current, is closing with the aft dolphin. The gap between the ship and the dolphins is measured in feet, then inches, then its too close to tell on the forward dolphin. Crewmen on board toss lines down to the dolphin personnel. The ship has closed with the forward

He looks out over the scene the crew on their lines, the tugs, the wind sock at everything, and an observer can tell he is still calculating, still working on Plans A through C and beyond. He answers his radio. Its the personnel on the dolphin with the measurement of how far it moved from the impact of the tanker: two inches. Al-Sheetah smiles again. I love my job, he says. Every time I step on the bridge, its exciting, AlHajri says. This is not a routine job. He smiles: It rings your bell.

Opposite, left: Capt. Al-Sheetah discusses the approach to the berth with the Namurs captain. The tankers bow is nearly 300 meters (1,000 feet) from the bridge. Right: The Namur was just one of 1,648 tankers to call at the Ras Tanura Port for crude oil in 2004.

dolphin without a jolt, without a shudder without any sensation at all. Al-Sheetah is on the radio to the tugs. Stop, he says. A moment later and its over; crewmen are securing the ship with lines while the tugs amidships are pushing hard now, battling the wind and current and holding the Namur in place against the dolphins. The crewman on the manifold signals that the alignment is perfect the ship doesnt have to be moved an inch north or south. Al-Sheetah turns and smiles. He hasnt cracked the egg. Nice, he says. The master shakes his hand. Hes made around 10 trips to Ras Tanura as a master and says the facilities and the pilots are both world-class. The master goes inside to begin the business of loading oil. Its about 1:45 p.m., nearly three hours since Al-Sheetah came aboard the Namur. LOAD ER UP It will take about 15 hours to load the 1,110,400 barrels, at a rate of about 100,000 barrels an hour. Fully loaded with 2,050,000 barrels and bound for India, at departure the Namur will draw 20.8 m (68.2 ft) of draft so she will have to wait for high tide to clear the channel another factor harbor pilots must calculate. We went very slowly today, Al-Sheetah says. The ship has cargo on board already, so we went even slower, for safety.

Al-Sheetah disembarks, crossing a gangway over to Sea Island and then climbing down a ladder to the narrow causeway that runs the length of the berths and leads to a helipad and a small pier for the pilot boats. Its not your usual work commute. He stops and looks back at the Namur, and from the pier, the enormity of the ship and of the delicacy with which it was berthed are awe-inspiring. At the end of the day, Balharith says, unlike a lot of jobs, we harbor pilots feel satisfied and proud every time we disembark from a ship. When I first started out in the division, there were a lot of expatriate harbor pilots, Al-Sheetah remembers, and they took young Saudi pilots under their wing and passed along their knowledge. Now its the turn of my generation to pass along our knowledge to the younger Saudi pilots, he says. And they will pass their knowledge along to the generation after them.

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