Maritime pilot: Difference between revisions

Columbia River Bar Pilot boat CHINOOK

A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. Legally the master remains in command of the ship. The pilot is a senior adviser only. It is one of the oldest, least known professions and yet one of the most important in terms of maritime safety. The economic and environmental risk from today's large cargo ships makes the role of the pilot essential.

Duties involved

Boarding is tricky, as both vessels are moving and cannot afford to slow down.

A Dutch Pilot vessel sets out on the North Sea from IJmuiden to guide a ship into the Port of Amsterdam.

Dutch Pilot boat along side while pilot disembarks the Celebrity Constellation. (Picture taken from bridge.)

Dutch Pilot boat preparing to retrieve the pilot after the Celebrity Constellation transited the lock leaving Amsterdam. (Picture taken from bridge.)

Their size and mass makes large ships very difficult to manoeuver; the stopping distance of a supertanker is typically measured in miles (kilometres) and even a slight error in judgment can cause millions of dollars in damage. For this reason, many years of experience in an operating area are required to qualify as a pilot.

File:Helo.jpg

Columbia River Bar Pilots' helicopter

By far the most challenging part of any ship's voyage is the passage through the narrow waterways that lead to port and the final docking of the ship. The pilot brings to the ship expertise in handling large vessels in confined waterways and expert local knowledge of the port. In addition to bringing local maritime expertise on board, the pilot also relieves the captain from the economic pressures that can compromise safety. Instead of being part of the ship's crew, pilots are employed locally and therefore act on behalf of the public rather than of the shipowners. However, the master of a ship that calls at only a few ports, such as a ferry, may be licensed as a pilot for those ports- such ships do not need to carry a pilot.

Normally the pilot joins an incoming ship at sea via helicopter or pilot boat and climbs a swaying Jacob's ladder sometimes up 40 feet (~12 metres) to the deck of the largest container and tanker ships. With outgoing vessels, a pilot boat returns the pilot to land after the ship has successfully negotiated coastal waters.

Pilots specifically use pilotage techniques relying on nearby visual reference points and local knowledge of tides, swells, currents, depths and shoals that might not be readily identifiable on nautical charts without first hand experience in the waters in question.

Beyond the experience and training of regular ship's captains, pilots also receive special, ongoing training to stay on top of their profession. Pilots are required by law in most major sea ports of the world for large ships.

Signal flag H(hotel) - Pilot on Board

In popular culture

• In the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Pirates of Penzance Frederic's father directs his nursemaid Ruth to apprentice him to be a pilot but instead she mishears and indentures him to be a pirate till his 21st birthday.

External links

• Marine Piloting
• Atlantic Pilotage Authority Canada
• Pacific Pilotage Authority Canada
• Australian Marine Pilots Association
• European Maritime Pilots Association