Speaker Antonio Molinero described the service that marine pilots provide as being “of general interest”
Represented by the manager of Remolcadores del Guadalquivir, María Luisa Lozano, and the assistant manager of Guadalquivir Maritime Terminal, Francisco Rivera, Boluda Corporación Marítima in Seville attended a lunch-colloquium organized by Propeller Club of Seville, in which the manager of the Marine Pilots’ Association and the secretary general of the Marine Pilots’ Federation, Antonio Molinero, explained the importance of pilotage in port operations and its classification as a “service of general interest”.
Pilotage is one of the oldest and least known professions, yet it is one of the most important in maritime safety. The economic and environmental risk from today’s large cargo ships makes the role of the pilot essential.
Boluda Corporación Marítima’s Seville managers attended the lunch-colloquium as part of the training program the maritime company carries out each year to maintain a highly qualified and trained staff, with the objective of greater efficiency with company clients.
Molinero gave an extensive, detailed talk on the federation’s national representatives, finally focusing on the port of Seville, Spain’s only inland port, situated on the Guadalquivir estuary, whose peculiar characteristics make pilotage especially complicated. In fact, from Sanlúcar de Barrameda on the Atlantic Ocean, access to the Seville port facilities is through a lock, the only one of its kind in Spain, after a journey of approximately 50 miles and more than five hours’ navigation.
Also participating in the lunch were the head of the Port Authority of Seville’s Navigation Division, Luis Ibarrola; administrator of Seville Port Customs Office, Carmen de la Peña, as well as shipowners, shipping agents and others connected with the club.
Manuel González, secretary of Propeller Seville; Miguel Ángel Pascual (maritime pilot), Manuel Pérez (maritime pilot); Mª Luisa Lozano, manager of Remolcadores del Guadalquivir; Antonio Távora (maritime pilot), Ricardo Franco (maritime pilot), Antonio Molinero (speaker) and Miguel Ángel Sanromán, manager of the Seville Maritime Pilots’ Association.
