Elena Nencini
After 25 years within the Ormeggiatori di Ravenna, Alberto Antonelli took on the role of president just over a month ago at a time when the category is facing some changes and, in particular for the port of Ravenna, an intense period is looming of novelty. The Moorers are part of the technical-nautical services: at the moment there are 26 of them at the port of Ravenna and they are awaiting the arrival, in a few days, of two new recruits who will bring the number to 28, Antonelli explains: «We have made the request for reinstatement at 28, so at least we can breathe. I hope they will have arrived by July 1st.”
Work on the regasification terminal is progressing, what will change for you?
«We still don’t know exactly, there should be between 6 and 8 people involved, with two permanent people every day. But everything still needs to be studied, it will still be a good amount of work. We will have to study the shifts, in the meantime we are doing a general restyling of the equipment to be able to go out and we have built a second boat”.
How many resources do you currently have available?
«6 port vessels, 1 offshore, one in the construction site: other equipment for the port is also planned. For example, we are thinking to understand what types of boats can be useful for cruises: the small ones are too useful, if there is a bit of undertow and there is half a meter of wave the 7 meter harbor boats struggle to moor . However, the larger boat is excessive. Now we’re waiting to see which vessel will be suitable for the regasification terminal, then we’ll see.”
Has there been an increase in work after the Covid crisis?
«After Covid the whole port started working again, with ups and downs, basically we are holding on, the terminal operators are probably unloading less goods, but we are holding on given that we work on the carrier, we deal with around 22 ships a day».
The changes to the Navigation Code have recently been released, what will change for you?
«It will concern precisely the new recruits who will not immediately become moorers. To be registered on the register they will have to take steps with exams. I’m still reading the documentation but I think it takes about 5 years to become an effective Moorer. For those who are already registered, they only need to do the continuous training which we have already been doing for ten years. Nothing changes for us, it only changes for the new ones. Some things also change for the announcement, such as the presence of a technical English expert. Furthermore, the new Navigation Code provides for the possibility of establishing Ati (temporary business association), a choice that we have already made as a cooperative 15 years ago with the Mooring Officers of Venice and Chioggia to help us in case of need. It is an important step that has also been accepted by the Harbor Offices: a small port or one that is in difficulty due to a lack of equipment can thus make use of the staff and/or vehicles of other mooring companies. Something we have already been doing for 15 years with the Chioggia regasification terminal which requires 8 people to moor and 2 boats. But at the port of Chioggia there are only 5 mooring men. None of the three were able to take on the job alone so we formed a joint venture.”
Are excavations causing problems for you at work?
«It’s more demanding, the conditions in which we operate are not those of everyday life, it requires more staff, more attention, we pay a lot of attention to safety together with the Harbor Office since we work near construction sites. Then we’ll see if bigger ships arrive.”
From your point of view, what would the arrival of larger tonnage ships mean?
«They are raising all the docks, 2 meters above the water level. The new quay on the Trovaroli peninsula will also be at 4-4.5 m. from sea level it will be more demanding from a physical point of view but also in terms of the means and people to be used. We have pick ups with winches and tow hooks but they will not be sufficient for ships of certain sizes. Let’s see what solutions to find and what investments to make.”
