Episode 2 The Harbour

Aberdeen Harbour, on the north-east coast of Scotland...

SHIP'S HORN

..one of Britain's oldest businesses...

It's just like a conveyor belt. It just never just stops!

..and one of Europe's most modern ports.

You've got clearance to sail now.

This is a glimpse into a hidden world...

On our way. He's under the bell now.

..of men and women who keep the harbour running...

It's what you would call a typical woman.

I'm a poor defenceless female, so watch it.

..24 hours a day...

Things change like... CLICKS FINGERS

It's getting on for a Force 10 now.

Hang fire on that bell.

This is just madness.

..365 days a year...

Goodbye, cruel world.

God, I'm greeting here.

-Jimmy!

-How are you, my friend?

It has been my pleasure.

The Harbour.

SHIP'S HORN

Aberdeen Harbour handles almost five million tonnes of cargo,

worth around £1.5 billion, every year.

Once you get in this machine, you get a good view of the boats.

It's the main centre of operations

for the offshore gas and oil industry,

and the principal commercial port in northern Scotland.

Slow, slow...quick, quick, slow.

It injects £510 million a year into the local economy.

All this depends on the harbour staying open

all day every day,

and in all weathers.

VTS. Pilot cutter. Hello, Crawf. Yes, it's Keith and me aboard.

We're headed out. It's not very nice, is it?

Pilot Tim Wingate is used to the unpredictable north-east weather,

but even for him, gusts of up to 60 miles an hour are unusual.

Whatever you do in this weather, don't mess about.

It's getting on for a Force 10 now.

It's not the nicest feeling in the world,

but you've just got to get on with it. It's part of the job.

There comes a point when it's almost too dangerous to leap from one boat to another.

Yeah, I know.

This time, he makes it.

OK, cheers.

It's a bit rougher than it was yesterday. The wind's picked up. It's 40 knots, 45 knots.

And Tim found it tough piloting the ship through the harbour's narrow entrance.

That was hairy, that was, coming through the cut.

It was about five metres off. But I was, like, full thrusters.

As the evening progresses, the weather worsens.

-I was coming in there, I was getting 65 knots.

-I don't think that's a good idea.

We'll just suspend it for an hour or so.

Whether or not the harbour closes is up to the pilots,

the harbour master and Vessel Traffic Services, VTS.

And they've decided to close it.

It's rare for the harbour to close for any length of time.

But the stormy weather means it's unusually quiet for VTS controller, Ralph Greig.

RADIO MESSAGE

If you would note, please, that the port is currently closed

due to high sea conditions at the entrance.

It's his job to direct all activity within the harbour area.

But not today.

Sorry, there's nothing happening.

HE LAUGHS

The one thing that we cannot control is the weather.

We just can't.

We've got six- to seven-metre high waves at the entrance now,

which is just... No boat can really cope with that,

coming in through such a narrow entrance.

Everybody who's in port is stuck in,

and everybody who's outside is stuck out.

But Ralph has other problems.

You see, I've got my iPad with me but I've finished my book,

so I've got nothing to read. That's my problem this morning.

175 miles out at sea is the Bibby Sapphire.

And saturation diver Terry Dearlove

is preparing for his final dive of the tour.

He's demob happy after spending 25 days inside this pressurised chamber,

where the helium mix he breathes to enable him to dive at depth

alters his voice.

HIGH-PITCHED:

Today, Terry is the bellman.

It's his job to dress the divers

and make sure that their helmets are on correctly.

He also makes sure the divers have enough hot water in their suits,

so they can survive in temperatures of just five degrees.

Despite being paid £1,200 a day, the time is hanging heavily on Terry.

The harbour's been closed on and off for the past couple of days,

and it's up to the duty pilot to decide whether it's safe to re-open.

-What do you reckon, Jim? Two?

-Two, two-and-a-half metres.

Two-and-a-half metres. VTS pilot cutter.

It's still a lot worse than it looks from there.

Every minute the harbour's closed costs money.

The harbour doesn't get the revenue from the ship coming in.

The agents in the port will therefore not get the work.

Stevedores, cranes, haulage companies...

It's got a knock-on effect to everything if a ship can't come into port.

It also means no work for boatmen Alan Cowper and Norman Campbell,

sitting out the storm in their bothy.

Is it a BBC One or Two...?

I fancy a cruise up the Norwegian fjords.

I've seen them advertised. It's quite cheap, actually.

Aye, but I dinnae think it's so much you pay the cruise.

It's when you're on board, you're having to tip folk.

I'll gie ye a tip see that broken bottle, dinnae wipe yer arse wi' it.

That'll help you a lot, that one.

This is it. At the moment, this is borderline.

We have 17 inside, that we know, ready to sail.

And we have...24 ready to come in.

The duty pilot attempts to take the first vessel out.

Conditions are still rough.

But he successfully makes the first run.

3½ knots round the corner. It's not fast enough.

The harbour's back in business.

We're going away to let go of the Highland Prince. He's ready to sail.

But it will take time to clear the backlog that's accumulated.

This is when the adrenaline starts to get going up here.

RADIO CHATTER

PHONE RINGS

Highland Prince, boatman.

Yeah, that's me quayside, ready to let you go, Captain.

Of course when the weather dies down and everything can get going, it's a mad rush then.

Right, you're on the list.

If conditions improve enough to get you out, we certainly will do.

His shift over,

Alan's watching his teenage daughter warm up at football practice.

Cassie's number 11. She usually plays in defence but...

I'll maybe just give her a slap as she goes past,

tell her to get on wi' it.

Her hobby takes him all over Scotland.

She does look for you, though.

Even though she puts it out she's a big toughie, ye ken, she isn't.

She always looks for you.

Talent scouts are looking for players for the Scottish Under-15 girls' squad.

So the two have come to Glasgow for two days of trials.

No, no, have you had success at rugby, like? Have you had success at that?

-No, you haven't. Future job, career?

-Hobo.

-Hobo, aye, that's about it. Dinnae write hobo.

'I must admit, I had a bit of a restless kind of night.

'I think it was a bit of excitement and worry for her, like, you ken.'

Well, she's only 13 and it's a lot for her,

'but she seemed to be a wee bit nervous today as well.'

Outside school.

The tension is already beginning to show.

-01224...

-Oh, my God!

-Aye, well, just in case you forget.

-I know it!

It's been a long process for Cassie to make it this far.

-..schoolteacher's to go for a trial in...

-Yeah.

Let's see if we can get some people into the next round for Scotland trials.

The following two days will decide who makes the Scottish team.

Back on the Bibby Sapphire, the two divers are struggling to secure a valve.

-Has that gone on, fellas, has it?

-'No.'

But it's proving tricky.

Is it not engaging properly?

And the divers are running out of time.

-Yeah, turn it again.

-The ship costs more than £4,000 an hour to run,

and everyone is focused on finishing the job as quickly as possible, as long as it's safe.

-It can go either way, it'll be loose.

-Yeah, you can go either way with it, you know?

He just wants to unscrew that first one.

Even just doing something like a hand tie, you know,

you've got the water resistance, etcetera. Everything's a little bit more difficult.

There's no option but to leave it for the next team.

OK, guys, that's a nice one, that's your last dive, isn't it?

Yeah, thanks very much, lads.

As Terry comes up, the other bell is on its way down.

But there's another problem.

Can you just hang fire on that bell? We'll concentrate on this one.

One of the valves is open, and the dive bell is losing pressure.

This port bell got into a bit of a problem with the seal.

Just standby, we'll try to put some pressure on this door.

-Are all your valves open, yep?

-'Yep.'

All Terry and the other divers can do is wait.

I've got pressure on the door, we'll go for a seal again, take ten.

-'Roger.'

-That's looking good this side.

-OK, we're good here, Rob. Equalising.

-'Roger.'

-It's all OK now.

-Jeff White is the life support supervisor.

It's his job to constantly monitor the divers living in saturation.

-And he'll say...

-'Down the door, please, mate.'

-Coming down.

Another day dawns at the harbour.

Skandi Buchan, VTS, OK. Pilot's on his way to you. Feel free to let go.

Ralph started working at VTS just over five years ago.

VTS, OK, you've got clearance to sail now.

While he loves the job, it's taken him away from his first love.

All clear.

And a career change is in the offing.

The ships, when I was at sea, best bit of it was driving them.

I think that's why everybody goes to sea, is driving the boats.

And it's the one thing I've missed since I've come shoreside.

All fast. Thank you.

So Ralph has decided to train as a pilot,

which is almost heretical for a VTS controller.

Pilots and VTS, although we work together,

they're like chalk and cheese.

Most of the guys up here can't believe the pilots going out there

in all the rough weather, the cold, the wind, the rain, the snow,

the sleet and jumping aboard the boats.

And all the pilots can't believe the guys up here

having to put up with the emails and the phone calls, you know.

Morning, Brian. What, here?

So I'm a bit of an oddity.

I just like driving ships. When you're on board a ship,

one of these big, huge ships, you do something on the bridge of that ship,

and something that size does exactly what you want it to do.

It's almost one of the best jobs you could have at sea.

Keep going, keep going, that's it.

APPLAUSE

On the pitch, Cassie is doing her best to impress the scouts.

She's been playing football since she was about, I would say, five, six years old.

Keep going up...

Anything to do with your national team's going to be exciting, ken?

She's facing stiff competition from 29 other girls, all hoping to make the final selection.

Absolute rubbish.

Mind the hankies that I gave to thingy last year? You'll need them!

Best player in the park, I think.

Cassie, though, has caught the scouts' eye.

Cassie, she's no' scared of a tackle.

-Her use of the ball is good.

-Mm-hm.

-But she definitely has to watch her positional sense.

But it's not a good game for Cassie. Her team loses 6-2.

What can you do? You can only try your best.

They didn't seem to close them down enough.

-We didn't play well.

-Left holding the bags. The usual.

It will be an agonising few days before they find out if Cassie's made the team.

On the Bibby Sapphire, Terry is now beginning the lengthy process of decompression.

The gas that Terry's been breathing over the past 25 days has dissolved into his body.

So that it can be released safely, the pressure on his body has to be

gradually reduced over a period of days.

-HIGH-PITCHED:

-November, November!

'It's a bit like a fizzy bottle.'

If you kind of release that lid or cap too quick, the bubbles come out too quick.

'And it would actually burst through their skin if you try and bring them up too quick.'

That's why it takes so long to bring them out,

because we have to do a little bit, a little bit each time.

Without that gradual reduction in pressure, the divers would

suffer from the bends, which, at this depth, would be fatal.

It's about half-five, and they're out just before three tomorrow.

So, less then a day. Yeah, they're looking forward to it.

At some point, some guys will give it a go.

It's either for you or it isn't.

If you've got a fear of closed in spaces,

you definitely don't want to go in there!

Then Terry spots something ominous.

A storm coming his way.

That may well scupper all his plans.

It's now been three days since the football trials,

and Alan's waiting to hear whether Cassie's made it into the team.

That's ten o'clock.

'When it's your kids, like, you want the best for them, ye ken.

'You don't want to let them down.

'I don't know how she'll feel, whether if she doesn't qualify,

'she's not good enough, I don't know.'

Four nights a week training, two games on a Saturday and Sunday.

Only Friday night off, it's a lot for a young girl, ken.

But the call he expects doesn't come.

You just want to hear one way or another.

And Alan has to go to work.

It's very frustrating,

especially when they told you it was going to be half nine this morning.

Give or take an hour,

so half ten, you'd have thought it would have been in,

and here's half 12 and it's still not in.

Even when she's not working,

her sea-faring customers are never far

from barmaid Val Morrison's mind.

Here's Danny, "Yeah, I'm not too bad. Over in Barcelona."

Aberdeen fine.

Busy as usual.

Sometimes, I'm on here speaking to my guys

till 4 or 5 in the morning.

I ken it's daft. Everybody says, "Oh, they're just boat guys,"

but they're nae just boat guys to me.

I hope I havenae sent that to myself.

For sailors all over the world,

their girl in Aberdeen Harbour will always be Val

at the Crown and Anchor.

Right, my darling.

-Can I have a bottle of...?

-A bottle of Newcie Brown.

-Yes.

You need a Bombay Sapphire with a bottle of tonic.

You need a vodka and lemonade there, you need a bottle of Corona there,

you need a pint of lager for you, he disnae need a pint of lager...

-You're a legend in Vietnam, by the way.

-How?

I was on a boat in Vietnam...

-You weren't?!

-I was!

I've to ask you, what's the Coalminer's Daughter song?

-SHE LAUGHS

-Who asked you that?

-Ah! That's your karaoke song, is it?

-That's right!

That was fae Chris Gunn fae Shetland.

Oh, I always used to have to sing that song to him when he was here.

# I was born a coalminer's daughter... #

She's known all over the world, supposedly.

I don't know what for, though!

I could never retire. ..Three.

I'll never, ever retire from here.

The Crown and Anchor is just as familiar

to sailors even closer to home.

Like ship's master Hugh Jones

and offshore project manager Roger Lowe on the Bibby Sapphire.

I sometimes frequent the Crown and Anchor

on the other side of the dock area.

And the captain is actually very friendly with the landlady there.

HE LAUGHS

Outside, the weather's rapidly deteriorating.

We're looking at Sunday there

between six-and-a-half and ten-and-a-half metres.

But all Terry cares about is escaping from decompression.

You're going to be a happy bunny within an hour.

Yeah, they're really anticipating coming out very much now.

They're probably hoping the door goes early,

but we don't let that happen.

See if they can resist pulling the door.

He's got his roll under his arm.

Almost to the minute.

He'll try the door.

DOOR CLANGS AGAINST FRAME

See, even with a small amount of pressure in there,

they won't be able to open the door.

They're counting the seconds now.

Finally, Alan gets a call...

-Hello?

-..but it's not the one he's expecting.

I dinnae ken, we haven't found out yet.

He's worse than an expectant mother, is he?

It's getting a bit annoying now.

I ken I'm pacing!

Nae much wonder he's grey. Worry.

PHONE RINGS

It's not my phone, it's not my phone.

And there's another call.

OK, Mum, I'll phone when I ken. Ta-ra. Bye-bye. Bye.

David Cameron.

His colleague Norman knows how much it means to Alan

that his children do well.

Alan and I... All the boatmen...

When you're on with somebody for as long as we are,

we see each other more than we see our wives and kids.

So you speak... Obviously night shift, if it's a quiet shift,

you speak about your life, so your lives are actually intertwined,

even though you've got separate lives.

When the next job comes in, Norman covers it.

Good old Norm.

On the Bibby Sapphire, Terry's exploding with impatience.

All right, fellas.

The door should have opened by now.

It's hovering over the "on surface",

so I don't know what's keeping that door shut.

Finally, after 28 days and five hours...

-All right? How you doing?

-Very well. How you feeling?

I'm feeling...

I'm feeling OK at the moment.

I'll be feeling even better though if you let me get out.

First thing I'm going to do?

I'm going to go for a drink and then I'm going to go

and maybe have a number two or something like that.

Did you see the voice change then? It was just a little bit different.

We're still stood near there so you're getting gas coming out,

so my voice is changing back to normal now.

'Jimmy!'

And there's the chance to catch up with old friends.

Terry! How are you, Terry?

No-one knows exactly when the ship's going back to Aberdeen.

But Terry hopes it's soon.

On Saturday night, it's my daughter's 18th birthday party.

She's got like the top floor of a club and two DJs are coming,

so it should be a right ball.

But I think she's got a lot of friends

that are a bit younger than 18,

so I think we might have to keep our eyes out

and keep control of the situation a bit...

Mind you, some of my mates are going, so...

I'll keep an eye out for them as well!

'So 13, make up closed...'

Although Terry's finished,

the other dive teams are still working.

Not for much longer, though.

It looks like we're going to be diving for about two hours, I think,

then the weather's going to get too bad...

So... They've just got one job

they want to try and finish down there.

When waves are higher than four metres,

there's too much movement on the bell to operate safely.

Even less than that triggers an alarm.

ALARM BEEPS

That took us out of position limits.

'What was the alarm?'

We went just outside the three-metre position limit then.

That was quite a big wave came underneath us, just moved the ship.

The storm that Terry first heard about on the internet

is finally arriving.

The next few days are going to be rough.

But the oil company doesn't want to go back until the job's finished.

In 48 hours' time, there's a dip in the forecast,

which means we'll be able to carry on diving at that stage.

So, we're going to stay out here until we get the dip...

And rock and roll and go up and down and hang on to things

and try not to spill our coffee.

Terry will miss his daughter's birthday.

It's a big disappointment.

I think it's all driven by a hierarchy that I don't understand.

That's why I'm just a diver and don't work in an office.

PHONE RINGS Oh!

Hello?

I'm fine, Wayne. Yourself?

Oh, magic! Oh, I'm chuffed to bits for her.

Aye.

Oh, that's good news, then.

OK, lovely, Wayne. Thanks for the news.

OK, bye, now. Bye.

That's that. God, I'm just about greetin' here.

Alan has chased himself stupidly.

The amount of hours that he's put in,

back and forth, watching the kids play football,

supporting them amazingly.

God, aye. God.

I'm chuffed to bits for her.

It's paid off.

So it's really nice to see that happen.

Cassie? Cassie, you've gotten in, darling!

OK, are you chuffed?

Aye, you sound like it, like.

You can hardly hear me?

Well, OK. Dad will see you when he comes tonight, OK?

I'm glad for you, darling.

OK, bye-bye. Bye.

Nae interested.

It's good for her. I'm really chuffed.

Coming up, there's a new face at VTS...

I'm told they are old dinosaurs.

..and something fishy down at the docks...

You wouldn't like to meet him on a dark night, would you?

..while the crew of the Bibby Sapphire brace themselves.

This is just madness.

Mother Nature at her worst.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd