Page 26 - Port of Kokkola Handbook & Directory

HARBOuR MASTERForward planningis the keTyAfter the CEO, the HarbourMaster is the highestauthority in a port and at thePort of Kokkola this duty is event. Notification of the vessel’sthe responsibility of Captain Carita Rönnqvist, a former merchant mariner who has been in the job since 2004.arrival sometimes begins weeks before the actual arrival.Captain Rönnqvist also provides local safety information to mariners entering the port and providing the rules to be followed while on the port estate. Kokkola operates various navigational aids and Captain Rönnqvist is responsible for checking to ensure the aids are well-maintained and always in good condition.2Overseeing port security also plays a big part in Captain Rönnqvist’s daily life. It is her job to execute regular security drills with vessels and their crews who must be trained at least244PORT OF KOKKOLA HANDBOOK & DIRECTORYhe arrival of a commercial vessel into a port anywhere in the world is always a plannedto the experience and skills of Captain Rönnqvist whose brief is to also check the security of the harbour and ensure that all port facilities work well.Harbour Masters normally designate a safe pilot boarding area where the vessel boards its Pilot who then subsequently communicates with the Port Control Office while proceeding towards the intended berth.The Harbour Master is responsible for safety of navigation at the port and Port of Kokkola is no exception thanksBut the job does not end there. Her principal task is to provide safe berths for vessels entering and leaving the port and improving the services they might require – everything from getting pilots in place and on time, making sure there are enough tug boats available in the port, and looking after winter conditions, which in Kokkola can be severe in winter months and meaning that ice has to be broken at the quay immediately before a vessel arrives or departs. The strength of the port’s bollards, fenders and loading capacity of the quays is also part of the Harbour Master’s brief along with mooring, and providing fresh water and electricity services.