On board with the pilots doing one of Britain’s toughest jobs

The Port of Immingham handles 46 million tonnes each year, making it Britain’s largest by tonnage. The Humber Pilots pay an integral part in keeping everything moving as ships bring in essential products such as steel, oil, gas, food and timber.

Jim Warnes has piloted more than 3,000 ships into the Humber during a 17-year career.

“In the winter it’s quite a challenge,” he says, as he prepares to guide a container vessel, the Elbrunner, through the lock of Immingham dock and out into the estuary. “We’ll have a tug boat with us to help us out into the river.

“The weather here can be quite poor in the wintertime,” he adds. “The seas can be four to five metres.

“We get a lot of wind and when it’s not windy we get a lot of fog, so it’s always entertaining.”