The impact of COVID-19 on maritime pilots: Evidence and lessons

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to port congestion and disruption to global logistics and supply chains. While previous research has examined the impact on port performance and economics, social issues, such as the impact on port personnel (including pilots), have been overlooked. In this context, this paper examines the challenges experienced by Chinese pilots during the pandemic through in-depth interviews with 28 pilots. It shows that the draconian pandemic control measures adopted in China, rather than the pandemic itself, impaired pilots’ physical and mental health, reduced their availability, and introduced new safety hazards, which curtailed both the port’s capacity and ability to provide efficient and safe pilotage and resulted in sub-standard services. The findings suggest that there is a serious issue regarding the absence of effective mechanisms for pilots to raise their health and safety concerns and how these might be addressed by port administrators and/or local authorities. Worker participation and involvement in occupational health and safety management was problematic. These findings have implications for pilot station management at both company and government administrative and legislative levels.

1. Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the maritime industry. As countries implemented lockdowns and travel restrictions to contain the spread of the virus, it caused a crew change crisis and imposed logistical challenges for shipping companies, port operators and other stakeholders. There is a large body of literature on the crew change crisis and its impact on seafarers’ rights, welfare and well-being [11], [44], [46], [55]. Similarly, a great deal of research attention has been paid to the impact of the pandemic on the management and operations of shipping companies and/or port sectors [16], [29], [31], [34], [51], [57].

Maritime pilots play an important role in maritime logistics chains by navigating the ships into and out of local ports. The challenges they faced during the pandemic, however, have not been examined. As pilots ensure the efficient and safe navigation of ships in the port and are indispensable in the industry, it is important to understand and address their concerns and issues. Drawing on interviews with 28 pilots working in a major Chinese port, this paper discusses the challenges experienced by Chinese pilots during the pandemic.

2. Literature review

When Main and Chambers [28] conducted a systematic literature review on the wellbeing and health of maritime pilots in 2015, they found that the topic had not been widely studied. They searched a number of electronic databases but found only 18 relevant publications. Their review identified a number of wellbeing and health-related issues, such as long shifts, challenging tasks, commercial pressures and irregular, unpredictable and unsocial working hours, which often led to stress, fatigue and family conflict. A recent survey of German pilots [35] confirmed these findings. It also found that about 20% of the respondents had experienced at least one accident involving personal injury and that more than half of them had experienced at least one accident involving damage to a vessel [35]. This suggests that pilotage accidents may be common. In this context, poor communication and coordination between pilots and duty officers has been identified as a factor in most pilotage accidents [1], [13], [14], [54].

Similarly, other researchers have noted that pilotage research remains limited [13], [26], [41]. This observation remains true today. Although the recent COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the well-being of the maritime workforce, no published research on maritime pilots could be found. In contrast, the impact of the pandemic on seafarers has been extensively studied [11], [12], [17], [18], [25], [38], [37], [43], [5], and the research suggests that the pandemic-related restrictions caused additional problems for seafarers.

Needless to say, as key nodes in maritime logistics and global supply chains, seaports and their operations were significantly affected by the pandemic. To minimise the spread of the virus along maritime logistics chains, seaports took a number of responsive measures, such as mandatory quarantine of crews and ships for a period of time (e.g. two weeks), prohibition of contact between seafarers and port workers, social distancing, implementation of sanitary measures and protocols, and working from home as much as possible [47], [48], [49]. A [47] study, for example, reported:

Several port terminal operators reorganized their work to allow for longer shift changeover times due to both social distancing and need for cleaning equipment and operational vehicles (ship-to-shore cranes, vans, side and front loaders) used by workers before each shift change. … [M]ost ports have been operating with a rotation system after forming teams that do not physically interact. These teams generally alternate on a weekly basis. In some larger port and/or terminal organizations, the number of people working in shifts of two teams has been reduced and a standby third team was created.

These restrictive measures reduced port capacity, which, together with increased demand in North America and Europe for manufactured goods from Asia [19], resulted in severe port congestion from late 2020 to early 2022 [39], [48]. Port congestion meant large numbers of containers ships (at its peak, over 600 ships or an equivalent to 12.5% of the global fleet) waiting for berths outside ports, extremely low liner schedule reliability (less than 40% in 2021), disruptions to global logistics and supply chains, and higher freight rates and consumer goods prices [19], [4], [39].

The pandemic and restrictive measures also caused severe port congestion and increased waiting times for dry bulk carriers [48]. In October 2021, it was reported that around 3200 dry bulk carriers (27% of the global dry bulk fleet) were waiting for berth worldwide [7]. Chinese ports were particularly hard hit, with a total number of 696 dry bulk carriers anchored outside Chinese ports [7]. This was because China adopted a zero-COVID policy and more draconian pandemic control measures, including ship quarantine for between two to four weeks, PCR testing of all crew before cargo operations, and mandatory isolation of boarding agents, port workers and stevedores after attending each vessel [8]. The evidence thus suggests that the pandemic had a significant impact on the port and maritime shipping industries, disrupted global logistics and supply chains, and hindered the development of international trade and the global economy.

There is a body of research literature on the impact of the pandemic on seaports [29], [34], [47], [48], [49], [51], [57]. However, this literature is based on port traffic data and focuses on the economic aspect of impacts, such as port performance, economic impacts on the port community and port resilience. The social aspect, such as the impact on port workers and staff, has not been examined.

Needless to say, to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the pandemic on the port industry, it is also important to examine the experiences of individual port workers and personnel, including pilots. As mentioned in the introduction, maritime pilots serve as an indispensable link between ship and port, ensuring the efficient and safe navigation of ships in the port. Maritime news media reported that the availability of pilots was one reason for port congestion in China [42], [8]. Shen [42], for example, reported on the working roster system (also known as the closed-loop management system) adopted in Chinese ports and its impact on port operations:

The working roster system — imposed by the government on workers who need to have contact with foreign personnel to contain the infections — requires pilots to conduct seven-day hotel quarantine plus another week of health monitoring at home after 14–16 days of work. Such an arrangement has already substantially reduced their operational capacities, contributing to the logjam at ports, where dockworkers are subject to similar covid working schedules.

How the system has affected the well-being of port workers and pilots, however, has not been studied. In this context, this paper examines the impact of the pandemic and the related policies on pilots and their operations from the perspective of Chinese pilots.

In addition, it has been noted in the literature [52], [56], [6] that in the maritime industry, especially when considering Chinese seafarers, channels and arrangements for worker participation and involvement in occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems have not been effectively established and seafarers generally feel that there are no opportunities for them to influence decision-making related to their health, safety and welfare. Whether this is the case for Chinese pilots and how this might contribute to their health and safety and port productivity have not been explored. This paper also aims to contribute to this gap.

3. Research method

This paper is based on a qualitative study in which 28 pilots working at the pilot station of a Chinese port were interviewed. The findings from these interviews were supplemented by documentary research on national and pilot station regulations. The study received ethical approval from the Psychology Ethics Committee of Dalian Maritime University.

This pilot station is located in one of the most developed port cities in the southern part of China – the Port of Alpha (pseudo-name). The station was first established in the 1940 s. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government abolished the system of free pilotage, and the pilotage service was uniformly controlled and managed by the local port authority. With the development of the port after the economic reform in 1979, the pilot station expanded rapidly and has now become one of the largest pilot stations in China, piloting around 13,760 ships annually.

In 2022 the station employed 136 pilots on fixed-term contracts, all of whom are Chinese. From low to high positions, there were 36 trainees, 46 Class III, 28 Class II and 26 Class I pilots registered on the books. Pilots need to accumulate enough experience and pass the national exams in order to get promoted to the next higher position. The higher the position, the large the ships the pilots can navigate. Supported by the local government, the station provided the pilots with a full package of welfare and non-wage benefits. Pilots in higher positions can gain better material benefits and support when they are employed and also when they retire.

Semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted in November and December of 2022. A stratified purposive sampling strategy was used to include pilots of different career stages, professional experience, age and marital status (see Table 1 for the composition of the sample). It allowed the full spectrum of experiences and opinions to be covered. A total of 28 pilots were included in the sample. It is commonly recommended that a sample size of 25–30 is ideal and allows for data saturation in qualitative research [21], [30], [9]. After 25 interviews, the research team felt that data saturation had been achieved. To ensure this was the case, a further three interviews were conducted, which confirmed the saturation judgment.

Table 1.

The composition of the sample.

Career stage	Class I	8
	Class II	8
	Class III	12
Pilotage experience	5 years or less	10
	6–10 years	7
	More than 10 years	11
Age	Under 30	10
	30–40	9
	Over 40	9
Marital status	Married	15
	Single or divorced	13

Interviews allowed the respondents the space to express what they felt was important in their own words and allowed the interviewers to capture the attitudes and feelings of the interviewees and the freedom to ask additional questions as they saw fit [23]. The interviews in this study explored how the pandemic affected pilots’ work and life. As such, the interviews facilitated a deep and comprehensive understanding of pilots’ perceptions and experiences. Due to the circumstances, the interviews were conducted online, when the pilots were in their centralised accommodation under closed-loop management. Informed consent was obtained orally from all the interviewees. Participants were anonymised. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed.

Following an inductive approach [10], the data were thematically analysed in line with recommended steps: 1) reading the transcripts to become familiar with the data, 2) generating and applying initial code, 3) identifying themes, and 4) reviewing and finalising themes. The codes and themes were identified and drawn out of the data rather than predefined based on existing theory. Fig. 1 provides an overview of the identified codes/themes and their relationships, as well as a framework for presenting the findings in the next section.

Fig. 1.

Identified codes/themes and their relationships.

4. Findings

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, pilots have been defined by the Chinese Ministry of Transport as personnel in high-risk positions. Accordingly, pilot stations are required to implement closed-loop management, and pilots are required to take level II medical protective measures when working. More specifically, according to the Guide for Ports and Frontline Workers on the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 (12th edition) [32], level II protective measures involve wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95/KN95 masks, protective goggles, medical gloves and protective clothing (hazmat suits), and closed-loop management entails a monthly rotation system: 14–16 days working under closed-loop management with centralised accommodation and point-to-point transfer between workplace and accommodation, 7 days in hotel quarantine, and finally returning home and taking 7 days off (with simultaneous health monitoring at home, avoiding crowded places and public transport if necessary).

When asked about the impact of the pandemic, all the interviewees talked instead about the level II protective measures and closed-loop management, focusing on the impact of these two requirements. Clearly, the pandemic did not affect them directly; rather, it affected them indirectly by inducing pandemic control policy and operational measures. The impact of the two requirements on pilots and their reactions has been outlined in Fig. 1 and will be discussed in the next three subsections in line with this outlined framework.

4.1. The impact of Level II protective measures

One problem with wearing a full set of PPE is comfort. It is very cumbersome and uncomfortable to wear, especially when they have to wear it for long periods in hot weather in summer. As Alpha Port is a river port, the pilotage channel from the mouth of the river to the port area is relatively long. Depending on the location of the terminals, it can be up to 80 nautical miles and pilotage can take more than 10 h. One Class II pilot said in the interview:

The longest period I wore PPE was six or seven hours. The speed of ships is slow, especially those Vietnamese ships. The distance is 60 nautical miles, and the ship’s speed is 8 knots; then it takes 7–8 h. Some of them would even stretch it to 12 h. It's very uncomfortable to wear PPE for that long as the clothes inside are soaked through.

Maritime pilot transfer operations (from a pilot boat to a merchant seagoing vessel or vice versa) are physically demanding and risky, especially in rough weather [27], [3]. It involves pilots climbing up and down pilot ladders to board and disembark the vessel. In addition, after boarding the ship, the pilot must also climb stairs to reach the ship’s bridge - they are not allowed to use the lift as this is an enclosed space and more likely to spread the virus. Wearing cumbersome PPE adds to this physically demanding task. One Class III pilot explained:

One big problem is the long waterway, and another is the fact that the temperature is particularly high in summer. I had a particularly bad cough when wearing N95 masks a while back and couldn't stop coughing for a month or two. It was particularly uncomfortable when I was wearing the mask and I couldn't catch my breath. Especially when climbing a container ship where there were more than 10 stairs from the deck to the bridge, with the N95, I couldn't breathe at all, I was already out of breath when I climbed up to the bridge.

More seriously, however, the wearing of PPE poses risks to the health and safety of pilots and the safety of navigation: PPE makes boarding and disembarking more dangerous, shoe covers increase tripping and falling accidents, and goggles and hoods block vision and hearing. The following quotes illustrate these risks and their disastrous consequences.

The main danger at work is in the boarding and disembarkation process, which involves climbing up and down pilot ladders. Accidents, like pilots falling into the water, occur from time to time because of high winds and waves, substandard boarding equipment and other factors. So we have a dangerous job in itself. Wearing PPE makes our job a lot more difficult. (a Class I pilot).

The shoe covers of the protective clothing are particularly slippery. When you walk on a wet surface or a deck covered by powder, you will easily slip. One of my colleagues said two days ago that he slipped and fell on the deck. When it rains, the shoe coverings are not waterproof, and water will get in and makes the shoes wet. This is dangerous when climbing staircases because the shoes become slippery. (a Class III pilot).

Wearing protective goggles and a hood actually blocked my vision. I bumped into an iron post on the ship once and some of my colleagues were injured. (a Class II pilot).

Last month, a colleague fell off a ladder while climbing. Yesterday, another colleague said that when he was in protective clothing walking on the deck of a bulk carrier where there were residues of cargo powder, he slipped and fell. (a Class II pilot).

As a pilot, lookout is the most important means of safe navigation. Fogged goggles and hearing loss due to wearing PPE present a huge risk to safe navigation. (a Class I pilot).

As such, the respondents were not happy about wearing the full set of level II PPE. They learned from experience that instead of protecting them, the full set of PPE put them at risk. They felt that level II protective measures were too extreme and that it would be enough and appropriate to wear only masks as their foreign counterparts and foreign seafarers did. They also consulted medical professionals on the matter. One very experienced Class I pilot expressed his dissatisfaction in this regard:

We are all against the idea that we take level II protective measures and wear level II PPE. In fact, we have talked to medical professionals about this situation, and we learned that there is no need for us to have level II protection. We can't do it properly anyway. Because the ship has a relatively large space, not a totally confined space, it is possible to maintain a social distance between people. We all wear masks and keep a safe distance. There's no need to take level II protective measures. …But they still request us to do this kind of protection. We are all against it, especially in the summer, working in the heat of nearly 40 °C.

Despite the unhappiness and anti-level II protective measures attitude of the pilots, they could do nothing but comply with the policy. The policy was implemented in a top-down manner and the management did not care to listen to or consider the pilots’ concerns and complaints.

4.2. The impact of closed-loop management

Compared to level II protective measures, closed-loop management caused a wider range of issues and prompted corresponding complaints from pilots. The monthly rotation system means that both their work time and home time are significantly reduced. Before the pandemic, they would normally work for two days, then go home and take a day off. But with the rotation, they could only work half the month. As their income depended largely on the number of ships they piloted, a reduction in working days inevitably led to a reduction in income. One Class II pilot explained:

Before the pandemic, I basically don't need to take extra time off. I normally work two days and then go back and stay at home for one day. I could pilot about 20 ships each month. Now, I work only 15 days and may not necessarily have 15 ships to work on. My income is significantly reduced. I'm not working much this year, I can't help it.

A reduction in pilot working days resulted in a corresponding reduction in the pilotage capacity in the port. Consequently, a lack of pilot availability was cited as one reason for record-breaking port congestion in China [42], [8]. This was corroborated by the interviewees. One Class I pilot, for example, said:

We have a sufficient number of pilots to meet the demand; there is no problem with providing timely services. However, by introducing quarantine and home health monitoring, we are using the time that we should be resting for this unnecessary quarantine. Being in quarantine or at home prevents people from taking part in work, and for this reason fewer people are actually available for work.

Prolonged absence from home is also a major concern. Research on offshore platform workers and Great Barrier Reef pilots has shown that the intermittent and prolonged absence of platform workers and pilots can leave their spouses feeling emotionally and socially isolated and can affect family life and relationships [33], [36]. In more recent research, pilots complained about the difficulties of reconciling work and family obligations [35]. Similarly, in this research, a common complaint was that the restrictions prevented them from going home regularly. One relatively young Class III pilot reported:

This closed-loop management causes lots of damage to pilots’ families because whatever happens at home you cannot help. You can only make a phone or video call. You can only go home once every month. Your children need to choose a school; you have old parents at home who need your support; and your wife … there are many things that you cannot predict and get ready for in advance. Every family has problems, and closed-loop management causes lots of trouble.

A fourth problem caused by the closed management was that the pilots lost their freedom and felt imprisoned. Both their centralised accommodation and quarantine were in the same hotel but on different floors. This meant that three-quarters of their lives were confined to the hotel and workplace. They had no choice but to eat pre-arranged hotel meals day in and day out. Surveillance cameras were also installed throughout the hotel corridors. This meant that their activities outside their rooms were constantly monitored, making them feel like prisoners. A Class III pilot described:

Downstairs in the hotel lobby, in the lifts, in the corridors, cameras are everywhere outside the room. As soon as you leave your room, your whereabouts can be tracked and traced. Where you go, when you go, what you do, and where you come back from, are all traceable.

Surveillance served its purpose. In the closed loop, pilots were required not to hold large gatherings. Failure to do so was punishable, as two pilots explained:

The company is afraid that we might gather together occasionally since we all stay in the hotel. In August and September, a new requirement was made, stipulating that any gathering cannot exceed four people, must be between 8:00 in the morning and midnight, and cannot last more than three hours, and that people in the gathering cannot go out of the room more than once. This requirement is very strange (Class I pilot).

The most chilling thing was last year's New Year. We were in the closed loop and could not go home. We gathered together to celebrate the new year. It is true that it was a relatively large gathering, but it was the new year and it should not be a big problem that people gather together to celebrate it. Later, the disciplinary team checked the camera recordings and caught a lot of people having an ‘illegal’ gathering. Then everyone was threatened with disciplinary action. However, because too many people were involved, the matter was suppressed in the end. (Class I pilot).

During the quarantine period, the pilot would be asked to move to a separate floor and would not be allowed to leave his room during the quarantine period. In addition to CCTV, an alarm would be fitted to the door which would sound when the door was opened.

Tight surveillance and control led to both physical and mental health problems with safety implications. The interviewees complained that it was difficult to do physical exercises in the hotel, especially during the quarantine phase when they were literally locked up in a room for seven days. The more common issue was mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. Mental health problems due to social isolation during the pandemic were common in the general population [2], [40]. Similar to seafarers [38], [5], prolonged absence from home aggravated the situation for pilots. Respondents felt that mental health problems affected pilotage and safety, as two of them reported:

It feels that everyone has become bad-tempered. A while ago, a colleague of mine was on a ship, the ship was slow, and he smoked. He had a row with the chief officer (complaining about the speed), then he turned the ship back to the sea. The manager called him, and he then turned the ship back sailing towards the port. The ship later made a complaint about the attitude of the pilot. (Class III pilot).

Last month, many of my colleagues had safety incidents during berthing and unberthing operations, such as allision with the wharf or electrical boxes, bumping into something, or scraping something. Several incidents occurred. I feel that this was related to closed-loop management. It greatly affects people’s moods and mental status. (Class I pilot).

Teamwork between the pilot and the ship’s crew and the pilot’s mental state are crucial for pilotage safety [1], [13], [14], [54]. The two quotations above clearly suggest that the closed-loop management affected pilots’ mental state which in turn may cause tension between the pilot and the ship’s crew and damage teamwork between them, resulting in incidents.

When pilots fell ill, however, getting them to a doctor became a problem because the closed-loop management meant that, as high-risk personnel, they could only be treated by a designated hospital. They had two concerns. Firstly, they had no confidence in the hospital and felt that the designated hospital, as a non-general hospital, did not have the capacity to deal with all types of emergencies and illnesses. Secondly, in practice, there was no direct communication between the designated hospital and the pilot station. If a pilot needed hospital services, he would have to report to a special coordination office set up by the transport bureau, which was time-consuming. An experienced Class I pilot explained:

There is a designated hospital for high-risk personnel. However, in practice, it is difficult to make the actual arrangement. Due to the pandemic, there was a lack of communication and cooperation between different organisations. There are no emergency procedures. If you are ill, you need to report to your manager for hospital treatment. However, your organization has no direct contact but has to report it to the Water Transport Special Office who then find someone to coordinate the arrangement. If there is an emergency, the person may already become cold before the arrangement can be sorted out. The designated hospital is not a general hospital either and its ability is quite scrappy.

4.3. Dissatisfaction and resignation

The above discussion shows that for pilots, not only their working lives but also their personal lives, were tightly controlled during the pandemic. Control inevitably generates resistance. One form of resistance is to complain. The complaints that the interviewees made to the researcher were not confidential; it had become routine in their daily lives for pilots to openly express their dissatisfaction with management.

Basically, when we meet each other and talk, it's all about griping about this leader of this unit or that leader of that unit or this policy or that requirement. I am reluctant to even go out to chat with colleagues now because it's the same thing, the same complaint. Nothing changes after I'm done spouting off, and the leaders still do what they want. (Class III pilot).

Various interpretations of the national policies are made at the grassroots level; and layers of extra requirements are added. The supervision of our compliance has reached the point of picking bones in an egg. These inevitably cause dissatisfaction among us. After all, our work is already hard enough. (Class I pilot).

As the closed-loop management affected not only the pilots but also their families, complaints were also made by their wives. On 12 November 2022, the national government announced 20 measures to optimise COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control [15]. One of the measures was directly relevant to those working in high-risk positions: when they complete 14–16 days of work under closed-loop management, they can go home directly and undertake 5 days of home health monitoring instead of undertaking 7 days of hotel quarantine. In practice, however, the pilot station continued the old practice of hotel quarantine and did not implement these new measures. This triggered a protest from pilots’ families, as one Class III pilot recounted:

For a while, families of pilots went to the mayor's hotline to make complaints, but nothing changed. When I was in quarantine last time, I heard that some family members made complaints, but nothing has changed since then, and hotel quarantine is still in place.

The above quotations suggest that the managers did not listen to the concerns of pilots and their families. There was not much more that pilots could do to have their concerns addressed. This perhaps further frustrated pilots, which affected their mood and temperament, as mentioned above one Class III pilot felt ‘everyone has become bad-tempered’.

Another form of resistance is resignation or leaving the job. Resignation is a common way and the last resort way for employees to express their dissatisfaction with their jobs [22]. However, being a pilot is a secure and well-paid professional job. The interviewees all mentioned that they used to like the job - it gave them a good income as well as the flexibility of not having to sit in an office from nine to five. Despite this, some pilots had left or were thinking of leaving because of the closed-loop management. One experienced Class I pilot lamented that in the past pilots never quit, but now ‘some people have started to leave in the last two years because they cannot stand the closed-loop management’. A less experienced Class III pilot said:

A few colleagues advised me to change my job, but it's still quite difficult to change careers. But as the control is so strict, I feel really disappointed in this job. There are colleagues who have resigned. I sometimes feel good to resign as it gives you freedom back.

5. Concluding discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the seaport sector, leading to port congestion, reduced reliability of liner shipping schedules, disruptions to global logistics and supply chains, increased freight rates and price increases for consumer goods [19], [4], [39], [48]. Research attention has been paid to the impact of the pandemic on seaports [29], [34], [47], [48], [49], [51], [57], largely focusing on port performance and economic issues. However, social issues, such as the impact on port workers and staff, have been overlooked. Against this background, this paper explores the issues and challenges experienced by Chinese pilots during the pandemic through in-depth interviews with 28 pilots.

Maritime pilots ensure the safe navigation of ships in ports. Their availability and competence are critical for efficient port operations. Although pilotage-related research is limited so far [13], [26], [41], previous research has indicated that pilotage accidents are common [35] and that poor communication and coordination between pilots and duty officers has been identified as a contributing factor in most of these accidents [1], [13], [14], [54]. In addition, previous research has suggested that pilots face a number of work-related challenges, including long shifts, challenging tasks, commercial pressures, and irregular, unpredictable and unsocial working hours, which often lead to stress, fatigue, and family conflict [28], [35].

This research shows that Chinese pilots were subject to draconian controls during the pandemic, which introduced more safety hazards and exacerbated the problems identified in the pre-pandemic literature. They were defined as personnel in high-risk positions by the Chinese government. Because they were in such positions, they had to take level II medical protective measures when working on ships and were subject to closed-loop management. This management meant that they were only allowed to go home for a week each month after a week’s hotel quarantine. However, level II PPE was uncomfortable to wear and increased the intensity of the pilots’ work. In addition, rather than protecting pilots, it can become a health and safety hazard by blocking pilots’ vision and hearing and making footwear slippery. Closed-loop management caused more grievances. It led to reduced incomes, prolonged family separations, confinement and loss of freedom, and poor medical care. These in turn affected the mental health of the pilots. Both pandemic measures had an impact on safety and respondents reported an increase in safety incidents. This is perhaps not surprising as pilotage safety relied on an effective lookout, a normal state of mind, and effective teamwork between the pilot and the seafarers on the bridge [1], [13], [14], [54].

Pilots play a key role in maritime logistics and supply chains by providing efficient and safe pilotage services to ships in port. However, the draconian control measures have reduced both the capacity and the ability of the port to provide such services. Limiting the number of working days to about half of the month, these measures led to a reduction in pilotage capacity, which is reported to be one of the reasons for port congestion in China [42], [8]. With their physical and mental health compromised and their ability to look out restricted, pilots' ability to ensure efficient and safe operations was inevitably reduced. Thus, it can be said that the draconian control measures led to substandard pilotage services.

A more serious concern revealed in this research is that there was no effective mechanism for pilots to have their concerns heard and addressed. Pilots found it difficult not to resist the tight control. They made complaints and their complaints and dissatisfaction were no secret. Furthermore, their families also made high-profile and open complaints. Their voices, loud as they were, fell into the abyss and were ignored completely by the management and the higher authorities. As a last attempt to resist the tight control, some pilots chose to resign even though the job provided security and a good income. Previous research noted that in the maritime industry, especially in relation to Chinese seafarers, channels and arrangements for worker participation and involvement in OHS management systems have not been effectively established and seafarers generally feel that there are no opportunities for them to contribute to decision-making related to their health, safety and welfare [52], [56], [6]. This study confirms that this is also the case for Chinese pilots. For effective worker participation, a number of preconditions are necessary, including autonomous workplace representation and external trade union support, consultation and communication between representatives and workers, management commitment to OHS and a participatory approach, and strong legislation backed up by effective external oversight [50]. However, these are largely absent in China, where freedom of association and genuine trade unionism are not allowed ([20], [45]).

While it is important to understand the economic impact of the pandemic on the port sector, the related social and human issues cannot be ignored either. Ports are managed and port operations are carried out by people. If the human issues are not addressed, port operations, management, and economic performance will be affected by the dissatisfaction of port employees and substandard services. The pandemic may soon be over, and the draconian pandemic control measures in China have recently been relaxed. However, the employee voice and upward communication problem reflected during this pandemic would not disappear automatically in port management in China. The problem of worker participation in OHS management needs to be addressed by the management of the pilot stations, the port authority and the government at various levels to create the conditions for a participatory approach to improve working conditions and OHS of workers, and ultimately port productivity and economy in the long run. Although freedom of association and genuine trade unionism are not allowed in China ([20], [45]), regular safety meetings between pilots and management could be arranged so that pilots could raise and discuss their concerns with management. In addition, ports and pilot stations generally have safety management systems (SMS) in place, which require a commitment to OHS from the top and a participatory approach. Management should comply with their SMS. Although national policy is set by central government, port authorities and pilot stations have the channels and means to lobby government for regulations and policies that improve safety.

It should be recognised that this research has limitations. It does not have broad coverage, but focuses on pilots working in one major Chinese port. However, as the pandemic and pandemic control measures were national, they also affected pilots working in other Chinese ports. For example, the closed-loop management system was implemented in all Chinese ports [24], [42], [53]. As such, the results are likely to reflect the experiences of pilots working in other Chinese ports. The findings suggest that pilot safety was compromised during the pandemic. However, due to the nature and scope of this research, it is uncertain whether and to what extent pilotage accidents increased in China during this period. Future research may be able to shed light on this issue.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Zhiwei Zhao: Conceptualization, Methodology, Interview Design, Data Collection and Analysis, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Resources, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Lijun Tang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Interview Design, Project administration, Data Analysis, Investigation, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing.

Data Availability

The data that has been used is confidential.