Townsville Port farewells captain of the seas

After 40 years of guiding more than 23,000 vessels into ports around the globe, Port of Townsville Marine Pilot Captain Gerard de Silva is retiring.

He joined the Port of Townsville’s pilotage team in 2007 after starting his career at the age of 20 in Sri Lanka, where he was one of the first cadets to be taken into the country’s merchant navy.

Marine pilots travel out to the shipping channel aboard a pilot vessel, then board the vessel to be brought in, via a vertical rope ladder before then guiding the ship into the port. The pilots do the same when ships leave a port.

Captain de Silva piloted his last vessel into the Port of Townsville on 14 August 2025, a bulk carrier with tugboats performing a water cannon to celebrate his last day at Townsville Port.

Today, he will undertake his final pilotage movement at the Port of Abbot Point.

He has piloted every type of vessel from cruise ships, fishing vessels, container ships and submarines.

Captain de Silva reflected fondly on some of his most memorable moments throughout his career.

“Handling some of the famous ships like Queen Elizabeth II, I handled in Colombo before I came to North Queensland,” Captain de Silva said.

“As a ship’s Captain I’ve been to Europe, UK, Middle East and so many countries.”

Port of Townsville General Manager Operations, Project Delivery and Safety David McLoughlin said Captain de Silva was one of the Port’s longest serving pilots and he will be missed.

“Gerard has been doing this for 40 years and been working at the Port (of Townsville) for 18 years,” he said. “Overall, he’s climbed about 100 kilometres of vertical ladders.

“We thank him very much for his service and dedication to our industry.”

In his retirement Captain de Silva plans to keep busy by spending more time with his family including his eight grandchildren.