A senior Dockyard Marine and Ports employee has spoken out against controversial tug pilot Kenneth Todd, labelling him a "bully''.

The employee has broken the silence surrounding the return of Mr. Todd, captain of the Faithful -- saying most of the Dockyard section are upset at his presence.

Mr. Todd has returned to active duties after a new crew were assigned to his vessel on Monday, following a long-running dispute involving Bermuda Industrial Union members who had grievances with the pilot.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said the original crew of the Faithful were scared of Mr. Todd and lived in a regime of fear on his vessel.

He listed grievances going back many years.

He also claimed Mr. Todd had let unqualified people steer the vessel, ignored crew requests to return to port after hitting an anchor on the seabed, and treated his crew like children.

In addition, he said the tug pilot had never been disciplined by management and consequently had got "worse over the years''.

"It is the way he treats people, he has no respect for people, regardless of their age,'' he said.

"The crew were scared of him, he bullies people verbally. What he said had to go, his crew couldn't even pass on a message from management unless it was in writing.'' The man added that, in his opinion, up to 95 percent of the 50 Marine and Ports staff at Dockyard didn't want to work with him. And he claimed management were loathe to do anything about the situation.

Mr. Todd has spent much time away from his tug duties as management and union officials battled to find a solution to the dispute, which dated back to the Xing Da sinking and blew-up in a strike earlier this year.

Mike Dolding, acting Marine and Ports director, yesterday refuted the allegations against Mr. Todd, saying he was regarded by management as an exceptional, dedicated pilot.

"All these matters were aired at arbitration and it still found that Kenneth Todd should go back to his boat. It sounds like sour grapes,'' he said.

"Kenny Todd has been persecuted. He has been with us for 30 years and has always worked to the highest professional standards in everything he does.'' An incident had come to management's attention regarding an unqualified person steering the vessel, after which Mr. Todd had received a written warning and all staff were informed that no members of the public were allowed on board vessels.

And he said accusations over safety after hitting an unchartered anchor were wide of the mark, as the pilot had checked his vessel immediately afterwards and found no damage.

Claims of verbal bullying were "rubbish'' said Mr. Dolding, who stressed that there had to be some authority on the vessel when the pilot was responsible for safety of the crew and vessel.