What’s it like working as a Stevedore?

Stevedores work round-the-clock shifts to load and unload cargoes to and from ships as safely and quickly as possible. As such, they are an important link in the supply chain that stretches from the consumer to the producer of the cargo.

With cargo movement at ports generally a 24-hour, seven days a week job, Stevedores work in shift patterns to ensure that there is always cover on the dock when a ship needs to be loaded or unloaded. The work is manual in nature and can be physically demanding, and Stevedores can be out on the dock in all weathers. Stevedores may also spend some time inside in the ship’s hold or in cargo storage, which can be cramped and uncomfortable.

Photo Thomas Kohnle

What kind of work can I do?

The work of a Stevedore varies depending on the type of port. For example, at passenger ports, Stevedores will control and guide passengers and their vehicles as they pass through the port, while on roll-on/roll-off ferries, Stevedores may drive the vehicles that carry trailers on and off the ships. On container ports, Stevedores may use forklifts and cranes to handle cargo.

In some ports the Stevedore has a wide range of responsibilities including the physical loading, securing and unloading of cargo, driving vehicles to transport cargo within the port, and operating highly technical loading and unloading equipment. However in other ports, the work may be narrower, for example some Stevedores work solely as crane drivers.

Where can I work?

Port authorities and private cargo handling or stevedoring companies employ Stevedores and Port Operatives. This means that there is a wide pool of potential employers at any one of the thousands of ports worldwide.

Stevedores work as a team to safety and efficiently make cargo move.

Photo Thomas Kohnle

Bruce Stewart, Stevedore

Working on the waterfront was in Bruce Stewart’s blood. “My father put my name down for the job. He was a stevedore for 34 years before me, and his father before that, and my mother’s father and their family. So it’s sort of a family tradition.”

Bruce has been working in the same port for over 25 years. “I get a lot of different jobs to do and move around a lot. I could be working on the hatch, which means I’m in contact with the crane driver letting him know where boxes have landed, or I could be on rail gang, like today. This means that I’m usually out in the yard cleaning it up and helping around the trains.”

Working outside is a highlight for Bruce, although he admits that sometimes the weather can present a few challenges. “I have to work in all weather, even if it’s raining and there are heavy winds. Sometimes we have to knock off the work because it’s not safe – if the ships are moving around you can’t work the cranes too well!”

Safety is always important at the port, and Bruce advises that people need to know how to properly use heavy equipment like fork-lifts, front-end loaders and cranes. “I got a lot of those skills by working through courses that my employer paid for. For example, I learned how to drive heavy trucks and trailers, and I got my fork-lift licence. The last course I did was crane driving for the ships.

“It’s not all vehicles,” says Bruce; equipment that has become more important over the years includes computers. “Years ago we used to write everything down. Now, I just have to push button numbers into a computer, and it comes back with where the container needs to go in the ship or on the port.”

In the future, Bruce plans to keep up the family tradition of stevedoring. “You have to put up with the hours, be reasonably fit, like outdoor work and enjoy all weathers. But the best thing is the variety of the work.”

SOURCE: Career Services New Zealand

How big is this sector?

As world trade increases there is a growing demand for Stevedores internationally. However, Stevedores have come under increasingly pressure to improve work productivity, while the advent of fully automated terminal machinery has threatened some jobs.

That said, there is a high level of job security as ports are essential for importing and exporting goods internationally.