0:00:05 > 0:00:09Aberdeen Harbour. On the North East coast of Scotland.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11SHIP'S HORN BLARES
0:00:11 > 0:00:14One of Britain's oldest businesses.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17It's just like a conveyor belt, it just never just stops.
0:00:17 > 0:00:18And one of Europe's most modern ports.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21You've got clearance to sail now.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24This is a glimpse into a hidden world.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26On our way. He's under the bell now.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Of men and women who keep the harbour running.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32It's what you would call a typical woman.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34I'm a poor, defenceless female so watch it.
0:00:34 > 0:00:3524 hours a day...
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Things change like...
0:00:37 > 0:00:43It's getting on for a force 10 now.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Hang fire on that bell.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47This is just madness.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49..365 days a year.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Goodbye, cruel world!
0:00:52 > 0:00:53God.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56- Jimmy!- How are you, my friend?
0:00:56 > 0:00:58It has been my pleasure.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00The Harbour.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03SHIP'S HORN BLARES
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Doug Rennie is the sales director at Andrew Christie Junior -
0:01:17 > 0:01:22one of the few fish processing factories left in the harbour.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26It's 5.35, and we're off to Peterhead.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30He'd rather not be up this early in the morning but he has no choice.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Because the market right in front of you no longer exists.
0:01:34 > 0:01:35No boats land here.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38Lights, but no fish there.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44And this is why we've been driving to Peterhead every day.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Aberdeen fish market closed in 2009.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53Now Doug has to make the 90-minute round trip five days a week.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55You've never been to a shout auction before?
0:01:55 > 0:02:00No, well, this is typical of a shout auction.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03169, 169...
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Last year, over a million boxes of fish,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14valued at £164 million were sold here.
0:02:14 > 0:02:15£50!
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Mainly haddock, cod, whiting and coley.
0:02:19 > 0:02:20570!
0:02:20 > 0:02:25Today, however, Doug's not impressed by what's on offer.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Fish are nice but there's nae a lot happening for me.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Not my kind of market.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38Ever since quotas were introduced, there's been less fish available.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41425, all done!
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Fish is very expensive. In fact, the whole year's been dear.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Nae a lot, Dave. What can you say?
0:02:54 > 0:02:56At the harbour,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59the final pieces of cargo are being loaded onto the Highland Prince.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03She's a supply vessel, delivering goods and equipment,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05to the rigs in the North Sea.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10We're a bit like a general delivery van.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12If the rig needs it, we take it out there.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17Nick Bennett is the ship's master.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18Highland Prince boatman.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Yeah, that's me quayside ready to let you go, captain.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Prince deck, Prince bridge. You can let go aft as soon as you get there.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Aberdeen VTS. Highland Prince.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29OK, Highland Prince, traffic clearance to sail.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32It can be quite finely timed sometimes getting in and out of here,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36you sort of join a convoy, particularly around this time of night,
0:03:36 > 0:03:37it always seems to be like rush hour.
0:03:40 > 0:03:41He used to drive ferries,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45and is skilled at handling large vessels like the Highland Prince.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47MUFFLED VOICES ON RADIO
0:03:48 > 0:03:52We're just coming straight out parallel with the quay.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Second mate Bob Irvine is his lookout.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- South parallel with the Volstad Viking.- Thank you.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Clear to come ahead. Five metres clear on the port side.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05All clear to starboard, thank you.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Aberdeen VTS. Highland Prince, bottom of the river.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09- RADIO:- 'Clearance to sail.'
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Once they leave the harbour, they increase their speed.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Clear, thank you.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26The Highland Prince is off to deliver supplies to a rig
0:04:26 > 0:04:28120 miles north east of Aberdeen.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33We've got, er... How much cargo have we got, roughly, Bob?
0:04:33 > 0:04:34About 60?
0:04:35 > 0:04:3947 units of cargo which we will deliver.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44We're like the milkman. We deliver on a daily basis.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57At the harbour, it's business as usual.
0:04:57 > 0:04:58What a cracking day.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02I think the woolly pully's going to have to come off at some point.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Don't go any more. A wee bit ahead.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07My usual jolly visit to the vessels.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Howard Drysdale works for the Sailors Society,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15a charity that looks after the welfare of seafarers.
0:05:15 > 0:05:20I'm the same as a God pastor, but my church is the port.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25My role is to go and visit the ships as they come in to the port,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28and make sure everything's OK on board.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30- Did you miss me last time? - I did, that's why we came back.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33You came back to see me? Oh, I feel honoured.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35HE LAUGHS
0:05:35 > 0:05:36An ex-seafarer himself,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40he's been port chaplain at the harbour for the past 11 years.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43You're next. Morning!
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Oh, I could have brought the car over,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47you could have painted that for me.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Morning, Captain, how you doing? Dan you're the man.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Good to see you again.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Fine, nice to see you again.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56I thought you were painting because I had arrived.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58No!
0:05:58 > 0:06:00I use humour a lot when I'm visiting ships,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03mainly to break down pre-conceived idea that I'm the minister
0:06:03 > 0:06:06who's going to preach at people. I don't.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09I had to share a taxi to the airport.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10Did you really?
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- The driver was a God botherer as well.- Oh, no.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16The number of guys who do bring up religion in one form or another,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and my approach is not to jump on them when they do that,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and then try and do the conversion bit,
0:06:22 > 0:06:27but just simply to nudge it along a wee bit, nudge it along a wee bit.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30And over the months and the years who knows where it's going to lead?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Are we ready to rock?
0:06:37 > 0:06:42At the fish processors, it's business as usual.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Although not for much longer.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Over the next few months,
0:06:49 > 0:06:55all the staff will be moving to a new factory, which has been completely refurbished.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Our efficiency level will be dramatically increased,
0:06:59 > 0:07:05which means our costs will go down by becoming more efficient.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08And factory manager Alex Ferguson
0:07:08 > 0:07:11hopes that business will improve as a result.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13The boy'll come for it. Shove it over there.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16I've still got 10 years to work, I need to work.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18You've got to go and try it, see if it works out.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Hopefully it will work out.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25But the skinning machine has broken down...again.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28I think it's a lady skinning machine.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31It's not a man skinning machine. It's a lady one.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38Very temperamental that, very temperamental.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Are you going to fix this? Going to repair this, no?
0:07:42 > 0:07:46In the new factory, they have a team of in-house engineers.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Here, it's just Arthur Stewart.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51Arthur keeps the machines going.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55He does a lot of maintenance in here, self-taught.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Arthur's been with the company for 34 years
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and he's dubious about the move.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04We've been up and looked round the factory.
0:08:04 > 0:08:05But everyone came out of the factory
0:08:05 > 0:08:11and I think maybe two members of the staff said, "This will be OK."
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- The rest were all going, "This is a- BLEEP- factory!"
0:08:14 > 0:08:15HE LAUGHS
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Doon here you've got freedom to move.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Up there it's all conveyor belt.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Large concentration camp as far as I'm concerned.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28So it's nae for me.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32He says he's leaving. Seriously.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Are you leaving?
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Yeah.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47He'll be going out in a box beside the filleting machine.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Oh, beautiful!
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Fantastic.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Some guy, you know.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I need him to run the factory with me.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02I'll get a job as a newspaper boy.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14It's 7.30am on the Highland Prince,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18and visibility is down to just 200 metres.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24LOW HORN
0:09:24 > 0:09:30If you can hear that noise outside. That's the foghorn of the oil rig.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33And that Morse signal that you can hear and sound, that's you,
0:09:33 > 0:09:35you're running into danger.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Time to make contact with the rig.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Britannia. Highland Prince. Yes, sir, that's us,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43just approaching your 500-metre zone.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46What's the visibility like with you?
0:09:46 > 0:09:50'At the moment, it's not great.
0:09:50 > 0:09:57'I could give you a rough estimate but it's still going to be...'
0:09:57 > 0:10:00The rig, you cant see it, it's just over there.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03So I'm now going to creep in very slowly.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11The fog makes everyone more cautious.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14And it's up to the crane driver to make a decision
0:10:14 > 0:10:17on whether they're able to work.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20You wouldn't be landing five tonnes of cargo blind.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23If he's not happy we won't be doing it.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26We'll be pulling off and waiting for the fog to clear.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Britannia Crane. Highland Prince.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34What's it looking like from where you are?
0:10:34 > 0:10:36'Well, I can actually see your deck.'
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Yep, OK, it sounds like we're good to go, then.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45We're about 15 metres off.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Sometimes we have to get a little bit closer, really,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52but only in flat, calm conditions.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56We always have to take into consideration the swell,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00which can pick us up and push us sideways.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06If you hit one of those legs, not only would it damage the ship,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09but they may have to evacuate the rig.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Potentially very serious with a lot of paperwork involved.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16And I don't like paperwork!
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Aye, Cygnus, the pilot. Morning to you.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32We are on our way out to you now.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37Ralph Greig used to work in VTS, or vessel traffic services,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40before he realised that he missed being at sea.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Have your ladder ready one and half metres above the water.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Now he's training to become a pilot.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51I like driving the boats.
0:11:52 > 0:11:58Going to the pilot's job, you're driving the boats every single day,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01from a small cargo ship, where you are having to do it all yourself.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06Going to the next boat and it's a supply vessel
0:12:06 > 0:12:08with thrusters and everything else.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10It's great.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12His wife, Alison, and children Heather and Jonathan
0:12:12 > 0:12:16have come to see how he's getting on.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Am I getting cuddles? Yeah!
0:12:19 > 0:12:23CHILDREN SQUEAL EXCITEDLY
0:12:23 > 0:12:27The jackets he's found for them are just a little on the big side.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I've lost my arms!
0:12:30 > 0:12:32A trio of pilots.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34You've not lost your voice.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36You've lost your arms.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40- Yeah?- Yeah!
0:12:40 > 0:12:45The main reason I actually came shore side was family reasons.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49I got married, the kids came along and I was finding that I didn't
0:12:49 > 0:12:52want to go away to sea because I was missing too much of the kids.
0:12:52 > 0:12:59This is a straight supply vessel. Nothing fancy at all.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02And it's great now, being home and I always see them
0:13:02 > 0:13:03'at some point during the day.'
0:13:05 > 0:13:07- You like my job, don't you?- Yes.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10You like my job. Why do you like my job?
0:13:10 > 0:13:11I don't know.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Because it brings lots of money for you to buy sweeties.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18With such a young family,
0:13:18 > 0:13:22Ralph is always conscious of the potential dangers of his job.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26You've got a ship that is moving all over the place,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28and then you've got a rope ladder.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31I think, on average, it's worldwide,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34about two to three pilots a year are killed.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40So that is the boat I go on.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41That one?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43No, the pilot cutter.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47You have to climb up that ladder and go through that door.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50You see? There you go. HORN BELLOWS
0:13:52 > 0:13:55HORN BELLOWS
0:13:55 > 0:13:57That was nice of them, wasn't it?
0:13:57 > 0:13:58It's a honky honk, yes.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Away they go.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The Suchandra, with its all-Indian crew,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24is a ship Howard's visited many times before.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27And you, my friend, are finding it cold.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30You're wearing your woolly hat inside.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- It's not very cold.- Aw... HOWARD LAUGHS
0:14:33 > 0:14:34Hiya. How are you doing?
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- Good, how are you? - Good to see you again.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- I've got some Indian news for you guys.- Oh, yeah.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- Thank you.- My pleasure.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44While some sailors can't wait to escape once they berth,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48others find it a more daunting prospect.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51'A lot of seafarers won't come off the ships.'
0:14:51 > 0:14:54They're in a foreign country, they're not sure.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57It's a bit insecure. They're not 100% comfortable going up the town,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59so they're a bit wary.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02We hear a lot of noise and people just screaming and shouting.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06I don't know whether they're looking out for a fight or...
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Be careful, that's all I would say.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Most big ports have a Seafarers' Centre,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15but there's only one in Scotland and that's in Grangemouth.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17We've consistently heard seafarers saying to us,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21"Is there a centre in Aberdeen?" And we say "I'm sorry, there isn't".
0:15:21 > 0:15:24They say "But it's so big, it's so busy - why is there no centre?'
0:15:24 > 0:15:28- It's looking a lot nicer.- Indeed.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Ever since he started as chaplain at the port,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34it's been Howard's mission to open such a centre.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Aw! Aw!
0:15:37 > 0:15:39But red tape and lack of funding
0:15:39 > 0:15:42have made it an almost impossible task...
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- Big enough boxes, Brian. - ..until now.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56And we've got pool table. We've got an internet room through there.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58That's really what the centre's all about -
0:15:58 > 0:16:00it's just giving a safe haven for the seafarer
0:16:00 > 0:16:03where they can come and relax, meet other seafarers, chat...
0:16:03 > 0:16:07But it's due to open in just a few days
0:16:07 > 0:16:11and Howard's struggling to get everything ready in time.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I'm not getting any younger, Brian. You ready to join me?
0:16:16 > 0:16:19I've had so many people say, "You don't need a mission,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23"there's no point in having it, the oil industry's dead and dying.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26"Who's going to be here in ten years' time?"
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Well, the oil industry is still going,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32there's still plenty of seafarers in the port and the need is here.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Cannae beat the banter, can you?
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Urgh. You're a strong man.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51It's very much on-the-job training for pilot Ralph,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55who's just about to take out the Maersk Laser.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57- Are you ready?- Yep.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Laser deck to Laser bridge. RADIO CRACKLES
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Yep, we're going to have the pilot arriving on the port side.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10With him today is Keith Fuller, who's there to supervise.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Ralph is only licensed to pilot ships up to 90 metres
0:17:15 > 0:17:19and this one is just over that by a few centimetres.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21OK, we're ready to let go.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24- Ready to let go! - OK, captain, so what we'll do is...
0:17:26 > 0:17:29..we'll just angle ourselves off here,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32keep the speed down to three, three and a half knots until there,
0:17:32 > 0:17:33then start picking up speed.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36But the Maersk Laser can be awkward to manoeuvre.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41You're all gone aft.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44At the moment, we're in quite a tight space.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47As soon as we move off, we've got to try and get, sort of...
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Almost angle her out without going ahead too much.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55So that we don't hit anything.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57This is one of the trickier bits.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Even though he's not driving the vessel,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03it's Ralph's job to give the crew guidance.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06That's you all clear, you can start making a move.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11VTS, the Maersk Laser, we are on the move.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14One metre starboard.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17To make things even trickier for Ralph,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19the view from the bridge is not great.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Ten metres off the lifeboat now.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23'You can't see very much.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25'You'll have seen me running from side to side...
0:18:25 > 0:18:29'The visibility is not fantastic from any one point in the ship.'
0:18:33 > 0:18:37For Ralph, it's another success.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Yeah, we're our way down now.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Yeah, it was good, it was all right. We didn't hit anything, so...
0:18:44 > 0:18:48And as for the most dangerous part of any pilot's job...
0:18:51 > 0:18:53'It's just timing it right.
0:18:53 > 0:18:59It's nothing that can, sort of, be...taught.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01It's more just a learning process,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04you've just got to learn as you go. You know when you do it.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06So, yeah.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18It's the 19th of December.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22The grand opening of Howard's Seafarers' Centre.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29I cannae wait! I wanted to open the door now and it's...
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Well, we've only another half hour to go!
0:19:32 > 0:19:34And...I'll probably open the door
0:19:34 > 0:19:38and there'll no' be a soul out there, of course!
0:19:40 > 0:19:42But they're practically queuing up.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47How are you doing? How are you, my friend.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51I said I would give the first seafarer in here a big hug.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54That's you, you're the first seafarer!
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Good to see you, my friend!
0:19:56 > 0:19:57Nice to meet you!
0:19:57 > 0:20:01- My family.- This is your family? - Yeah. So, finally...
0:20:01 > 0:20:05It's open, we've arrived. You've been warned!
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Very good we have a seamen's club
0:20:07 > 0:20:09because if we have a problem, I know...
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- We're around to help.- Yah, you know?
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Ooh. I set it up for you.
0:20:16 > 0:20:17Ah, you're doing grand, man.
0:20:17 > 0:20:23The centre has been entirely funded by Aberdeen's maritime industry.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28'Well after ten years, five months, 18 days, here we are.'
0:20:28 > 0:20:29And I'm must over the moon
0:20:29 > 0:20:33that the seafarers are actually getting something that THEY want.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36So my dream has not been just MY dream.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49On the Highland Prince, they're just about ready to start loading.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Prince Bridge, Prince Deck on radio check, channel four.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Colin Clarkson is one of the ABs, or able seamen.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59..yeah, loud and clear also.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03At the moment, we're doing the blue ones here.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06We're sending them up at the moment. They're all the food containers.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13You have to prioritise. Hungry people on there.
0:21:14 > 0:21:163595, mate.
0:21:16 > 0:21:17There we go.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24That's me opposite number, Angus, from the Isle of Skye.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Right-hand man.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29It's all the same principle.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33There'll be an eye hanging off it, hook on, get out the way,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35crane driver'll take it up.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Yeah, CM2766, bay eight. Copy that.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49Whenever they're working on the deck,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52someone is always on the bridge, supervising.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I'm up here, obviously, to monitor the DP equipment
0:21:55 > 0:22:00to make sure we keep position, but also, most of my time I spend
0:22:00 > 0:22:02making sure that what the crane is doing
0:22:02 > 0:22:05and what my crew are doing is safe.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09There's 55 loads here. A good, fast crane driver, which we've got here -
0:22:09 > 0:22:11he's good, this fella.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16You could do that in a long day, but there's the back loads as well.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18The back loads slow things down a bit.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21There's limited space on any rig.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23There's the next back load coming now.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Back loads could be old drilling equipment, anything like that...
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Refrigeration units, got to go.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Before they can take on more cargo,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35the crane driver has to offload anything they no longer need.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40He's trying to get a moving load on to the deck on a moving platform
0:22:40 > 0:22:43from, you know, a couple of hundred feet in the air.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Good bit of driving, that, wasn't it? A lot of it's hand-eye co-ordination.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I should imagine they're good on PlayStations.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52That's the baby. Come on, come on, come on.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55I know it sound a bit romantic, if you like,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57but I do like being at sea.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59I don't think I could work in an office.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01I wake up and I enjoy going to work.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04That's the most important thing, I think.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07I going to have to go.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'We've got a small amount of cargo.'
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Eight lifts left to put aboard this particular rig
0:23:15 > 0:23:17and then they're going to call it a day.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20And we'll come back tomorrow morning
0:23:20 > 0:23:24and, all being well, probably about an hour's work there
0:23:24 > 0:23:27and we'll be heading back to the beach - to Aberdeen.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Even as they're leaving the rig,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35another supply boat will be on its way out.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39So it's a continual process.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42They're getting supplies all the time.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46The food, the water, the fuel oil,
0:23:46 > 0:23:49all the paintbrushes, the rags -
0:23:49 > 0:23:52literally anything you could think of that's needed
0:23:52 > 0:23:55is brought out on a vessel like this.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59- 'Highland Prince - Britannia Deck' - Britannia Deck - Highland Price.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02'Come back in the morning.'
0:24:02 > 0:24:04OK, sir, that sounds like a date.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06We'll see you at 7.30 in the morning.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09- 'See you in the morning.' - Sweet dreams.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29On an industrial estate, just over a mile from the harbour,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31is the new fish processing factory.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38And Doug is keen to show it off.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43You get the panoramic view from here, right.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47Gives you some idea of the dimensions of the factory.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50The factory was completely refurbished a year ago.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56Everything up here is everything that down the road isn't.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00The conditions in here are superb.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03This is actually a nice place to work.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07There are around 200 employees, mainly from Eastern Europe.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12You see, the guys are all happy. And these girls are all happy, too.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15They love working here.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21The factory currently produces 50 tonnes of white fish fillets,
0:25:21 > 0:25:2665 tonnes of salmon fillets, and 25 tonnes of salmon portions per week.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31These numbers will increase substantially
0:25:31 > 0:25:33when the refurbishment is complete.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39I've been in this industry now for 40 years, right?
0:25:39 > 0:25:43And, you know, from what we started with to this...
0:25:44 > 0:25:47..is a million miles apart.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52This will be a role model for others to follow.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54We hope.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Howard's had some bad news.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Packing is never fun.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Where to start, where to finish?
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Amongst his papers is his job description.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29It's, "To provide in the port of Aberdeen and the surrounding area
0:26:29 > 0:26:32"a Christian ministry, welfare support,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35"counselling and general assistance to all seafarers,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37"irrespective of race, colour or creed."
0:26:37 > 0:26:41So, you know, that's what I do,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44that's what I've done all my time here.
0:26:44 > 0:26:50Yeah, I was asked to go down to my society's headquarters,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54down in Southampton, along with all the other chaplains.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58None of us expected what actually did happen the following day
0:26:58 > 0:27:00when we were called into the actual meeting
0:27:00 > 0:27:04and, basically, the society was losing lots of money,
0:27:04 > 0:27:10and the cost of the UK chaplains - the five full-time chaplains -
0:27:10 > 0:27:15was more than the cost of the 56 other chaplains worldwide.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20And I was told that there was no post in Aberdeen
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and they also said they wouldn't have a chaplain in a port
0:27:23 > 0:27:26where there was a Seafarers' Centre, providing welfare to seafarers.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30So in my success of getting a centre, I actually did myself out of a job.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35The news couldn't have come at a worse time.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37I've just got the centre up and running
0:27:37 > 0:27:42and I almost feel as though the feet have been dragged out from underneath me.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Which obviously means I'm now going to reassess,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50rethink through things, try and work out where do we go from here.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58The silver lining in all of this is that it gives me a new opportunity.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03As God closes one door, another opens
0:28:03 > 0:28:07and a number of people have been in discussion with me
0:28:07 > 0:28:10regarding the possibility of me staying here,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13cos my passion is still to serve the seafarers.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17So I'm hopeful that there is still a position here in Aberdeen
0:28:17 > 0:28:20for a full-time Chaplain of one form or another.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Yeah, it's exciting times.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Coming up, chef Iain Scott samples his cooking...
0:28:36 > 0:28:38Spot-on. Spot-on
0:28:38 > 0:28:42..and the pilots practise their jumps.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43It's a bit slippy.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd