Travails of a touring offshore pilot

In an earlier column I had narrated, rather lightly, the life of an offshore pilot. At that time, my transition from naval aviator to the offshore pilot was complete. But it was still early days to weigh-in on which side the grass was greener. Today, with the benefit of hindsight and experience, both good and bad, I have some more insights to share with you.

- KP Sanjeev Kumar

Though this article focuses on a touring offshore pilot, much of what follows can be read across to any offshore worker, including the mercantile marine, who work ON and live OFF a roster system.

The oil and gas (O&G) industry works 24/7/365 under a stressful, highly regulated, safety-critical environment. Where’s the room for error if you are sitting on thousands of gallons of hydrocarbons in the middle of the sea? If the wheels of economy have to run, machinery hundreds of miles into the sea has to turn ceaselessly.

Humans are not machines. They need friends, family, social life, rest and recreation. There is also accumulated fatigue – aggregated physical and mental stress that can be dissipated only through a long break (vacation) from work. All this combined explains the need for scientific ‘scheduling’ or ‘rostering’ for an industry like O&G.

Imagine being away from familial duties for six weeks only to return home to wide smiles and warm hugs! No need to beseech the boss “Sir, I need a vacation”. In offshore, even if you want to, you cannot violate the duty roster. A guaranteed ticket home awaits at the end of each tour. What could possibly be a happier situation than that?

Let us unravel the layers one by one

Rostering System