Port Phillip Sea Pilots are the vital link between Victoria and the world. Ports Australia's Zara Bryan and Yvonne Kaloterakis spent the day with CEO Thorsten Werges at the PPSP pilot station in Queenscliff to get a glimpse into this 185-year-old organisation that holds safety as its number one priority.
Port Phillip Sea Pilots are a proud member of Ports Australia. Find out more about PPSP here.
TRANSCRIPT
My name is Thorsten Werges. I'm the CEO of Port Phillip Sea Pilots, and right now we are here at our beautiful headquarters in Queenscliff, Victoria.
Port Phillip Sea Pilots evolved over time and I think one of our success models is actually the shareholder structure that we have. So every pilot can become a shareholder of PPSP which means they have a different skin in the game.
All the different projects that we have, whether this is, related to technology that we want to produce for the market innovation when it comes to safety management or training, expansions into other ports, these pilots just get involved in this because they are not perceived as employees but really as shareholders.
It's their company. We do collaborate with a lot of different shipping companies all over the world and I think this has been very beneficial for both parties involved.
One example would be that our safety management system has become kind of a golden standard and another example would be where we reached out to other pilotage companies looking at remote pilotage and the pros and cons and the ways actually to make this happen over time.
It's fair to say that safety is the most important pillar of all our work
We spent more than $260,000 per year on non-mandatory training for our pilots
We want them to think the unthinkable and be prepared for the unthinkable. We’re in the middle of a marine park. It's the home of our families It's going to be the home for our next generation
So everything that we can do, we think is a commitment for us in the next generations and all the communities living here and this is where we never step down, not even a single inch.
We know that there are a lot of efforts of all these shipping companies to reduce emissions and to find alternative ways and more innovative ways of ensuring the trade is secure but at the same time reduce emissions to the max.
My personal opinion is that we, as a pilotage service provider, are part of this very important supply chain. And our latest pilot vessel is probably a very good example of this. It's the most technically advanced and fuel efficient pilot launch in Australia. They're probably 35% more fuel efficient than any other pilot launch and they’re biofuel ready.
But that, for us, is only the beginning. So this is when we have teamed up, for example, with Hart Marine on the Mornington Peninsula and some other global players to define what could be the next step in pilot launches.
Given the environment here and the next generation we are currently developing is really deserving the brand net zero, which is going to be a big surprise once it comes out.
It's still in the making, but this will definitely be a game changer.
