View source for Maritime pilot

{{Short description|Mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters}}
{{for|naval aircraft pilots|Naval aviation}}
{{broader|Piloting}}
{{redirect|Boat pilot|boats named Pilot|Pilot (disambiguation)|text=Not to be confused with [[pilot boat]].}}
[[File:Darryl Brown, commanding officer of USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49), talks with a Nigerian pilot while navigating into Lagos.jpg|thumb|A [[Nigeria]]n pilot assists a [[U.S. Navy]] ship into the harbor at Lagos using nautical charts]]
[[File:Les Escoumins 043.jpg|thumb|''Grandes Eaux'', pilot vessels<ref name="Corporation of Pilots of the Lower St. Lawrence">{{cite web |title=Corporation of Pilots of the Lower St. Lawrence |url=https://cpbsl.ca/en |access-date=25 April 2024 |quote=The expert training, precise knowledge and practical experience required of pilots are therefore indispensable for navigating this river.}}</ref>  Anse-aux-Basques, [[Les Escoumins, Quebec|Les Escoumins]], [[Estuary of St. Lawrence #Maritime estuary|maritime estuary of St. Lawrence]], [[Canada]]]] 

A '''maritime pilot''', '''marine pilot''', '''harbor pilot''', '''port pilot''', '''ship pilot''', or simply '''pilot''', is a [[mariner]] who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as [[harbor]]s or [[river mouth]]s. Maritime pilots know local details such as depth, currents, and hazards. They board and temporarily join the crew to safely guide the ship's passage, so they must also have expertise in handling ships of all types and sizes. Obtaining the title "maritime pilot" requires being licensed or authorised by a recognised pilotage authority.

== History ==
[[File:The Pilots.jpg|thumb|left|Five pilots sitting around a wooden table.]]
The word ''pilot'' is believed to have come from the [[Middle French]], ''pilot'', ''pillot'', from Italian, ''pilota'', from [[Late Latin]], ''pillottus''; ultimately from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pēdón, "blade of an oar, oar").<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=pilot|title=pilot &#124; Search Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com}}</ref>

The work functions of the pilot can be traced back to [[Ancient Greece]] and [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], when locally experienced [[harbour]] captains, mainly local [[fishermen]], were employed by incoming ships' captains to bring their trading vessels into port safely.<ref name="Pilots">[https://books.google.com/books?id=VNsGi3nmuaQC&q=in+1888 Cunliffe, Tom, Pilots: Pilot, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar] Wooden Boat Publications. Brooklin, Maine. 2001</ref>

The [[pilot boat]] was made to quickly reach incoming ships from port. Harbor masters began to require licensing and insured pilots and placed regulations on incoming ships to bring pilots aboard.
<ref name="Pilots"/>

Inland [[brown water]] trade also relies on the work of pilots known as [[trip pilot]]s. Due to the shortage of qualified posted masters, these independent contractors fill the holes in the manning schedule on inland push boats on various inland river routes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-08-08-9908080329-story.html|title=PUSH THAT BARGE|first=Larry Fruhling Larry Fruhling is a special correspondent for the|last=Tribune|website=chicagotribune.com|date=8 August 1999 }}</ref>

A [[Sandy Hook pilot]] is a licensed maritime pilot for the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson River, and Long Island Sound. Sandy Hook pilots have been piloting ships in the New York Harbor for over 300 years.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rueb|first1=Emily|title=The Channel Masters of New York Harbor|work=The New York Times |date=17 November 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/nyregion/at-sea-with-new-york-harbors-channel-masters.html|access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref> The pilots of New York and Boston first served on [[Square rig]]s before entering the pilot service as boat keepers, later receiving their warrants as pilots, then their full commissions as branch pilots authorized to pilot vessels of any [[Draft (hull)|draught]] size.

==Duties involved==
[[File:Pilot boarding a vessel by helicopter.jpg|thumb|A pilot preparing to board a vessel by helicopter outside [[Durban Harbour]] in South Africa]]
[[File:Harbour pilot boarding.jpg|thumb|A pilot boarding a ship from a [[pilot boat]] while underway|alt=|left]]

In [[English law]], by section 742 of the [[Merchant Shipping Act 1894]] ([[57 & 58 Vict.]] c. 60), a pilot is defined as "any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof"—someone other than a member of the crew who has control over the speed, direction, and movement of the ship. The [[Pilotage Act 1987]] governs the management of maritime pilots and pilotage in harbors in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scholarlylaw.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/merchant-shipping-act-1894.pdf |title=Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 |access-date=2019-12-11 |archive-date=2022-04-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406160229/https://scholarlylaw.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/merchant-shipping-act-1894.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/21/pdfs/ukpga_19870021_en.pdf|title=Pilotage Act 1987}}</ref>

Pilots are required to have maritime experience prior to becoming a pilot, including local knowledge of the area. For example, the [[California Board of Pilot Commissioners]] requires that pilot trainees have a master's license, two years' command experience on tugs or deep draft vessels, and pass a written exam and simulator exercise, followed by a period of up to three years' training, gaining experience with different types of vessel and docking facilities. Following licensing, pilots are required to engage in continuing educational programs.<ref>{{Citation
 |title       = Pilot commission - overview
 |publisher   = Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun
 |date        = 7 October 2011
 |url         = http://www.bopc.ca.gov/res/docs/pdfs/BOPC-Overview.pdf
 |access-date  = 3 December 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110911013232/http://www.bopc.ca.gov/res/docs/pdfs/BOPC-Overview.pdf
 |archive-date = 11 September 2011
}}</ref>

Typically, the pilot joins an incoming ship prior to the ship's entry into the shallow water at the designated "pilot boarding area" via [[helicopter]] or [[pilot boat]] and climbs a [[pilot ladder]], sometimes up to {{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=off}}, to the [[Deck (ship)|deck]] of the largest [[Container ship|container]] and [[tank ship|tanker]] ships. Before climbing the pilot ladder, the pilot performs a visual inspection of the boarding arrangement to confirm it is safe to use and in accordance with international requirements.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vallance |first=Kevin |date=2024 |title=The Pilot Ladder Manual - 2nd Edition (2024) |url=https://shop.witherbys.com/pilot-ladder-manual-2nd-edition-2023/ |location=Edinburgh |publisher=[[Witherby Publishing Group]] |isbn=9781914993565}}</ref>

As both the ship to be piloted and the pilot's own vessel are usually moving this may be dangerous, especially in rough seas. With outgoing vessels, a pilot boat returns the pilot to land after the ship has successfully negotiated coastal waters.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.impahq.org/admin/resources/pilottransferarrangementsbrochure.pdf |title=Shipping Industry Guidance on Pilot Transfer Arrangements Ensuring Compliance with SOLAS|year=2012 |publisher=Marisec Publications|orig-year=2008|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140202104431/http://www.impahq.org/admin/resources/pilottransferarrangementsbrochure.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2014|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Recommendations for the Helicopter Transfer of Marine Pilots |url=http://www.heliheyn.de/Seapilot/Offic_E.html |website=www.heliheyn.de |date=9 August 1996}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|ncoZj8ui2-s|Video showing embarkation of helipilot on deck Matz Maersk }}</ref> Pilots are required by law in most major sea ports of the world for large ships.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kusjAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Pilots+are+required+by+law%22&pg=RA20-PA2|title=Reports and Documents|first=United States|last=Congress|via=Google Books}}</ref> Pilots use [[pilotage]] techniques that rely on nearby visual reference points and local knowledge of [[tide]]s, swells, [[Ocean current|currents]], depths and [[shoal]]s that might not be readily identifiable on [[nautical chart]]s without firsthand experience in certain waters.<ref>[http://www.americanpilots.org/document_center/Activities/Unique_Institutions__Indispensable_Cogs__and_Hoary_Figures_Understanding_Pilotage_Regulation_in_the_United_States.pdf Unique Institutions, Indispensable Cogs, and Hoary Figures: Understanding Pilotage Regulation in the United States] BY PAUL G. KIRCHNER AND CLAYTON L. DIAMOND</ref>
[[File:Pilot Boat L 238.jpg|thumb|A Finnish pilot boat of [[Finnpilot Pilotage|Finnpilot]] off the coast of Helsinki]]
Legally, the master has full responsibility for the safe navigation of their vessel, even when a pilot is on board. If they have clear grounds that the pilot may jeopardize the safety of navigation, they can relieve the pilot from their duties and ask for another pilot, or, if not required to have a pilot on board, navigate the vessel without one. In every case, during the time passed aboard for operation, the pilot will remain under the master's authority, and always out of the "ship's command chain." The pilot remains aboard as an important and indispensable part of the bridge team.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VuZdiWZiKssC&q=pilot+remains+aboard+and+as+a+consultant|title=Proceedings - American Merchant Marine Conference|date=March 12, 1956|publisher=Propeller Club of the United States.|via=Google Books}}</ref> Only in transit of the [[Panama Canal]] does the pilot have full responsibility for the navigation of the vessel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gard.no/web/updates/content/52970/pilotage-law|title=Pilotage Law - GARD|website=www.gard.no}}</ref>

In some countries, deck officers of vessels who have strong local knowledge and experience of navigating in those ports, such as a [[ferry]] or regular trader, may be issued with a pilotage exemption certificate, which relieves them of the need to take a pilot on board.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/21/part/I/crossheading/compulsory-pilotage |publisher = [[legislation.gov.uk]] |title=Pilotage Act 1987}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/maritime/short_sea_shipping/pilotage_exemptions_en|title=Pilotage Exemption Certificates|date=2016-09-22|website=Mobility and Transport - European Commission|language=en|access-date=2019-01-10}}</ref>

== Remote pilotage ==
[[File:Remote Pilotage.jpg|thumb|A remote maritime pilot at DanPilot's operations center monitors live navigational data and radar feeds during Denmark's remote pilotage test program. The system enables pilots to guide vessels without boarding, using real-time sensor input.]]In 2024, Denmark launched a pioneering initiative to explore the use of remote pilotage, marking a global first in the maritime industry. The program, overseen by national pilotage authority DanPilot in cooperation with maritime technology provider Danelec, allows pilots to guide vessels from a shore-based control center using real-time data.

The system transmits navigational information, radar feeds and sensor data from the vessel to a remote operations hub, enabling pilots to perform their duties without physically boarding the ship. This setup is currently being tested in the Western Baltic Sea, an area known for its traffic complexity and narrow transit routes.

The objective is to assess whether remote pilotage can offer a safe and effective alternative in specific scenarios, such as short transits or adverse weather, while maintaining the high safety standards required in traditional pilotage. The project has attracted international attention as a potential advancement in port efficiency, environmental sustainability, and pilot safety.<ref>{{cite web 
 |title=Denmark launches world’s first test program for remote pilotage 
 |url=https://safety4sea.com/denmark-launches-worlds-first-test-program-for-remote-pilotage/ 
 |website=SAFETY4SEA 
 |publisher=SAFETY4SEA 
 |date=April 2024 
 |access-date=2025-05-23}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web 
 |title=Denmark tests remote pilotage in Western Baltic 
 |url=https://www.bairdmaritime.com/work-boat-world/pilotage/denmark-tests-remote-pilotage-in-western-baltic 
 |website=Baird Maritime 
 |publisher=Baird Maritime 
 |date=April 2024 
 |access-date=2025-05-23}}</ref>

==Compensation==

The Florida Alliance of Maritime Organizations reported that Florida pilots' annual salaries range from US$100,000 to US$400,000, on par with other US states that have large ports.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Patrick | last=Peterson | title=Harbor pilots steer clear of rule change | url=http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100301/BUSINESS/3010303/1006/news01/Harbor+pilots+steer+clear+of+rule+change | publisher=[[Florida Today]] | location=Melbourne, Florida | pages=14A | date=1 March 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130512/http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100301/BUSINESS/3010303/1006/news01/Harbor+pilots+steer+clear+of+rule+change | archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> [[Columbia Bar]] pilots earn approximately US$180,000 per year.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/print_story.php?story_id=26722 | title = Columbia pilot pay attracts port's eye | publisher = [[Portland Tribune]] | orig-year = 2004-10-19 | date = 2009-10-30 | first = Ben | last = Jacklet | access-date = 2010-07-15 | archive-date = 2011-06-07 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110607235734/http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/print_story.php?story_id=26722 | url-status = dead }}</ref> A 2008 review of pilot salaries in the United States showed that pay ranged from about US$250,000 to over US$500,000 per year.<ref>{{cite web| last = Dibner| first = Brent| title = Review and Analysis of Harbor Pilot Net Revenues and Salary Levels| publisher = West Gulf Maritime Association| date = December 8, 2008| url = http://www.wgma.org/maritime/Dibner%20galtex%202008%20report.pdf| access-date = September 18, 2010| url-status = dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091229090907/http://www.wgma.org/maritime/Dibner%20galtex%202008%20report.pdf | archive-date = December 29, 2009}}</ref> The [[Sandy Hook Pilots Association]] in [[Staten Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]], has 50 employees across its locations and generates $7.15 million in sales (USD).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.the_united_new_york__new_jersey_sandy_hook_pilots_association.2f30a3df70132650fda51af41b933d01.html |title=The United New York & New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association|work= www.dnb.com|access-date=2022-01-26}}</ref>

Pilot compensation has been controversial in many ports, including the [[Port of Los Angeles|Los Angeles]] and [[Port of Long Beach|Long Beach]], [[California]], especially in regard to pilots who are employed by public agencies instead of acting as independent contractors. Los Angeles pilots get $374,000 a year.<ref>{{cite magazine |first1= Christopher |last1= Palmeri |first2= Rodney |last2= Yap |title=Los Angeles Port Pilots Steer for $374,000 a Year While Long Beach Profits| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-01/los-angeles-port-pilots-steer-for-374-000-a-year-while-long-beach-profits.html| magazine=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]| location= New York, New York| date=1 December 2011| access-date=3 December 2011}}</ref><ref name="lw">[http://www.loodswezen.nl/en/about-the-organisation/history/1888/ History of Loodswezen] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201214819/http://www.loodswezen.nl/en/about-the-organisation/history/1888/ |date=2014-02-01 }} about organized marine pilots in the Netherlands. Visited 3 April 2013.</ref>
	 
Compensation varies in other nations. In New Zealand, according to the government career service, pilots earn NZ$90,000-120,000.<ref>{{cite web| title = Harbour Pilot/Kaiurungi Aka| work = Career Services/Rapuara| publisher = NewZealand.govt.nz| url = http://www.careers.govt.nz/default.aspx?id0=103&id1=J80261| access-date = September 18, 2010| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100603211621/http://www.careers.govt.nz/default.aspx?id0=103&id1=J80261| archive-date = June 3, 2010}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:ICS Hotel.svg|[[International maritime signal flags|Signal flag]] H (Hotel) is used to signal "[[Harbour pilot|Pilot]] on board"
File:ICS Golf.svg|Signal flag G (Golf) is used to signal "I require a pilot"
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Transport}}
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
*[[Navigator]]
*[[Pilot boat]]
*[[Pilot station]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}
IMO.org/pilotage

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book|last1=Cook|first1=Ian|title=Those in Peril: A Blue Funnel Story: a Fifty-six-year Love Affair with Ships|date=2010|publisher=Willsonscott Publishing|location=Christchurch, N.Z.|isbn=9781877427312}}
*Harry Hignett, ''21 Centuries of Marine Pilotage''. London, March 2013.
* {{cite book |last=Vallance |first=Kevin |date=2024 |title=The Pilot Ladder Manual - 2nd Edition (2024) |url=https://shop.witherbys.com/pilot-ladder-manual-2nd-edition-2023/ |location=Edinburgh |publisher=[[Witherby Publishing Group]] |isbn=9781914993565}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Maritime pilots}}
{{Wikisource|1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Pilot|Pilot}}
* [http://www.impahq.org/ International Maritime Pilots Association]
* [https://marine-pilots.com/organisations List of Maritime Pilots Organisations worldwide]
* [http://www.americanpilots.org American Pilots Association]
* [http://www.marineinsight.com/careers-2/maritime-pilot-and-his-duties/ Pilot's Duties]
* [https://safety4sea.com/denmark-launches-worlds-first-test-program-for-remote-pilotage/ SAFETY4SEA – Denmark launches world’s first test program for remote pilotage]
* [https://www.bairdmaritime.com/work-boat-world/pilotage/denmark-tests-remote-pilotage-in-western-baltic Baird Maritime – Denmark tests remote pilotage in Western Baltic]
{{Merchant Marine Billets}}
{{Seamanship}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maritime Pilot}}
[[Category:Nautical terminology]]
[[Category:Navigation]]
[[Category:Marine occupations]]
[[Category:Maritime pilotage| ]]