Good day everyone

We would like to draw your attention to the guidelines "Managing COVID-19 risks on international vessels during pilotage" drawn up by Maritime New Zealand (MNZ). Here are some actions that are required by staff on board vessels calling ports in New Zealand. Please ensure that these are forwarded to your vessels and request the crew to confirm their compliance for each call to Auckland:

• Request that all crew on the bridge and any crew assisting the pilot with boarding, to sanitise their hands thoroughly with alcohol sanitiser, and put on a medical mask prior to the pilot boarding the ship.
• Provide just one crew member to escort the pilot to the bridge – maintaining physical distancing where practical and possible.
• Limit crew on the bridge to the minimum necessary to safely operate the ship.
• All surfaces that the pilot might touch, such as: bridge equipment, radar, ECDIS controls, VHF radios, helm and machinery controls, the interior buttons of any elevator, and staircase hand railings should be cleaned and disinfected before pilot use.
• Crew and the pilot are to maintain two metres physical distancing at all times where this is practicable.

Please instruct ships' staff to inform Harbour Control Duty Officers prior to pilot boarding for each arrival, shifting and departure process.

Appreciate your prompt action

​Allan D'Souza
GM Marine and Multi-Cargo Operations