Page 21 - Navigator 2021

IN MAY 2020, ROB HES WAS THE FIRST PILOT TO BRING A ‘CORONA-INFECTED’ SHIP INTO THE PORT OF ROTTERDAM. THE LEXA MAERSK HAD ALREADY BEEN REFUSED BY VARIOUS PORTS; IN ITS CAPACITY AS A SO-CALLED PORT OF REFUGE, ROTTERDAM HOWEVER WELCOMED THE VESSEL. HES VO- LUNTEERED: “I USED TO SAIL MYSELF. YOU CAN’T TURN YOUR BACK ON THOSE PEOPLE ON BOARD.”
In May of last year, Europe started to truly realise the severity of the corona pandemic. Tests were already available, but vaccines were not and the supply of protective equipment was limited. Not a lot was known about COVID-19 yet, a strong sense of panic still abounded. Some ships on which infections had broken out were floating around at sea. That particular morning, volunteer Rob Hes reported to the pilot station and was hoisted in a protective suit by chairman of the pilotage region Rotterdam-Rijnmond Tjitte de Groot and Operations Manager Elco Oskam. Next, he boarded the tender that would ferry him to the Lexa Maersk. Clear arrangements had been made with the ship. It
was daylight, no one would be waiting for him at the top of the pilot ladder. He did not take the elevator up but used the outside stairs and
he performed his task from the bridge wing by shouting instruction to the watch officer on duty through the open bridge door. Four people on board had been infected and several were in quarantine, including the captain. They all remained in their cabins.
Hes: “I stayed outside during the entire trip and luckily the temperature wasn’t too hot or too cold. I was carrying my own NMS navigation system so that I was able to navigate without needing to use the ship’s equipment. After a 3-hour journey, the Lexa Maersk moored and I disembarked the ship on the seaward side. Aboard an open vessel of the boatmen, all my corona gear was put in a garbage bag and I disinfected my hands with alcohol. Next, the boatmen took me back to the pilot station, during which time I remained outside. Not really spectacular I suppose, but definitely very special.”
Operations Manager Elco Oskam adds: “At present, we have already piloted some fifteen ‘covid-infected’ ships in Rotterdam. Of course, we now have plenty of corona kits for our pilots, who still work on a voluntary basis.”
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Going aboard in a protective suit