When Captain Robert Buck takes over the helm of Brisbane-based Poseidon Sea Pilots (PSP) on July 1, he will be leading a diverse team of forward-thinking maritime operatives.
With more than 45-years’ experience at sea, PSP’s new General Manager is highly respected within the industry, previously serving in a number of executive roles, including President of The Australasian Marine Pilots Institute.
“I started my career as a Deck Apprentice with BHP back in 1974 – and worked my way up to Ship’s Master, before joining Port Phillip Sea Pilots in 1997” Capt. Buck said. “A lot has changed in the industry since then, especially with the advent of new technology.”
Captain Buck said he had been drawn to PSP because it was part of the global maritime technology and services leader, AMS Group.
“AMS Group has been offering high quality, innovative and integrated technical solutions to the maritime, aviation and defence industries for more than two decades and its reputation is second to none,” he said.
“The integration of pilotage with the kind of experience and expertise embedded in the AMS Group presented a unique opportunity – one that was too good to pass up.
“In a competitive world where technological disruption is rapidly changing industries such as ours, marine pilot organisations need to have access, not only to the best in technologies, but also to those professionals with the technological expertise to adapt them to our particular needs and that’s what the AMS Group can do.
“This is a very exciting time in the history of the pilotage profession. PSP’s carefully chosen recruits will be the beneficiaries of our ability to leverage the AMS Group’s expertise to equip them with state-of-the-art technologies and world-class training while building on safety and efficiency.”
Potentially, there will be something in the order of 5,600 ships movements in the port each year and like any port, the community’s expectation is that the pilotage service will be of the highest standard.
Poseidon Sea Pilots is set to supply pilotage services to the Port of Brisbane from January 2022 after securing a 10-year contract. PSP has already successfully recruited most of its pilot team whose members have been deliberately chosen from diverse backgrounds.
“Our recruitment program remains on target, with jobs for pilot launch crews, dispatch officers and other support staff still in the offing.”
“Naturally, we’ve cast our net wide, but would like to have more Queensland locals join our ranks.”
Capt. Buck said the recruitment process would be completed very shortly and successful pilot candidates will commence training in July. Those interested in securing a position with PSP should send their CV to humanresources@poseidonpilots.com.au