Maritime pilot

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A Nigerian pilot assists a U.S. Navy ship into the harbor at Lagos using nautical charts Darryl Brown, commanding officer of USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49), talks with a Nigerian pilot while navigating into Lagos.jpg
A Nigerian pilot assists a U.S. Navy ship into the harbor at Lagos using nautical charts

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 harbors or river mouths. 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.

Contents

History

Five pilots sitting around a wooden table. The Pilots.jpg
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"). [1]

The work functions of the pilot can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome, when locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, were employed by incoming ships' captains to bring their trading vessels into port safely. [2]

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. [2]

Inland brown water trade also relies on the work of pilots known as trip pilots. 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. [3]

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. [4] The pilots of New York and Boston first served on Square rigs 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 draught size.

Duties involved

A pilot preparing to board a vessel by helicopter outside Durban Harbour in South Africa Pilot boarding a vessel by helicopter.jpg
A pilot preparing to board a vessel by helicopter outside Durban Harbour in South Africa
A pilot boarding a ship from a pilot boat while underway Harbour pilot boarding.jpg
A pilot boarding a ship from a pilot boat while underway

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. [5] [6]

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. [7]

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 40 feet (12 metres), to the deck of the largest container and 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. [8]

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. [9] [10] [11] Pilots are required by law in most major sea ports of the world for large ships. [12] Pilots use pilotage techniques that rely 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 firsthand experience in certain waters. [13]

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. [14] Only in transit of the Panama Canal does the pilot have full responsibility for the navigation of the vessel. [15]

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. [16] [17]

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. [18] Columbia Bar pilots earn approximately US$180,000 per year. [19] 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. [20] The Sandy Hook Pilots Association in Staten Island, New York, has 50 employees across its locations and generates $7.15 million in sales (USD). [21]

Pilot compensation has been controversial in many ports, including the Los Angeles and 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. [22] [23]

Compensation varies in other nations. In New Zealand, according to the government career service, pilots earn NZ$90,000-120,000. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seamanship</span> Art, knowledge and competence of operating a craft on water

Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The Oxford Dictionary states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilot boat</span> Type of boat

A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship got the business. Today, pilot boats are scheduled by telephoning the ship agents/representatives prior to arrival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Henderson (pilot)</span> American harbor pilot

Joseph Henderson was a 19th-century American harbor pilot who guided large vessels into and out of New York Harbor as a Sandy Hook pilot. During his long career his work included bringing the ship that carried the Statue of Liberty safely into port after its trip from Europe.

USS <i>Hope</i> (1861) Yacht used as a US dispatch boat and pilot boat

USS Hope was a 19th-century wooden yacht schooner, designed and built in 1861 by Henry Steers for Captain Thomas B. Ives of Providence, Rhode Island. She was acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was placed into service as a gunboat assigned to support the fleet blockading the ports of the Confederate States of America. However, at times, Hope was assigned extra tasks, such as that of a dispatch boat, supply runner and salvage ship. She was a pilot boat from 1866 to 1891 and in 1891 she was replaced by the Herman Oelrichs, when the Hope was wrecked ashore the Sandy Hook Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilot ladder</span> Specialized ladder used on cargo ships

A pilot ladder is a highly specialized form of rope ladder, typically used on board cargo vessels for the purposes of embarking and disembarking pilots. The design and construction of the ladders is tightly specified by international regulation under the SOLAS regime. Pilot ladders and other boarding arrangements must be carefully prepared for each operation, with the equipment inspected and verified as safe to use before each boarding takes place. Additional requirements relate to the use of man-ropes, platforms, accommodation ladders, combination ladders and securing methods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilot station</span> Onshore headquarters for maritime pilots

A pilot station is an onshore headquarters for maritime pilots, or a place where pilots can be hired from. To get from a pilot station to an approaching ship, pilots need to use fast vessels to arrive in time, i.e. a pilot boat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Hook Pilots</span> Mariners guiding ships near New York Bay

Sandy Hook Pilots are licensed maritime pilots that are members of the Sandy Hook Pilots Association for the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson River, and Long Island Sound. Sandy Hook pilots guide oceangoing vessels, passenger liners, freighters, and tankers in and out of the harbor. The peninsulas of Sandy Hook, and Rockaway in Lower New York Bay define the southern entrance to the port at the Atlantic Ocean.

<i>George W. Blunt</i> (1856) Pilot boat

George W. Blunt, completed in 1856, was a schooner built in New York that operated as a New York Sandy Hook pilot boat designated Pilot Boat No. 11. The schooner was used to pilot vessels to and from the Port of New York and New Jersey. That schooner was sold to the United States Navy in 1861, renamed and commissioned as the USS G. W. Blunt (1856), serving in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in the South. A second schooner, also named George W. Blunt, was built in East Boston in 1861 and purchased to replace the first schooner as a pilot boat.

<i>Columbia</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

The Columbia was a 19th-century pilot boat built C. & R. Poillon shipyard in 1879 for Sandy Hook and New York pilots that owned the Isaac Webb, which was lost off Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island in July 1879. She was run down by the Guion Line steamer SS Alaska in 1883. A second pilot-boat, also named Columbia, was built by Ambrose A. Martin at East Boston in 1894 that had a unique spoon bow and was extremely fast. She was thrown ashore in the great Portland Gale, and remained on the Sand Hills beach in Scituate, Massachusetts for over thirty years as a marine curiosity. The Louise No. 2 replaced the ill-fated Columbia.

<i>Moses H. Grinnell</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

The Moses H. Grinnell was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1850 for the New York maritime pilots. She was designed by the yacht designer George Steers. The Grinnell was the first pilot boat to feature a fully developed concave clipper-bow, which was to become the New York schooner-rigged pilot boat's trade mark. This new design was the basis for the celebrated yacht America.

<i>Richard K. Fox</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

The Richard K. Fox, first named Lillie, was a 19th-century pilot boat built in 1876 for Boston Pilots. She was designed by model by Dennison J. Lawlor. She was one of the most graceful and attractive of the Boston pilot-boats and represented a trend toward deep-bodied boats. She was later sold to the New York pilots and renamed Richard K. Fox in honor of the famous sportsman and publisher of the Police Gazette. In the age of steam, she was sold in 1896 to the Marine Hospital Service.

<i>Phantom</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook Pilot boat

The Phantom was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1867 from the designs by Dennison J. Lawlor. The schooner was considered a model for her type with a reputation for being very fast. She helped rescue the passengers on the steamship SS Oregon when it sank in 1886. She was one of the pilot-boats that was lost in the Great Blizzard of 1888. The Phantom was replaced by the pilot-boat William H. Bateman.

Edward E. Barrett Sandy Hook Pilot boat

The Edward E. Barrett, or Edward E. Bartlett, was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon in 1883 and designed by William Townsend. She helped transport New Jersey maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Barrett ended her pilot commission and was sold in 1904.

<i>Caprice</i> (pilot boat) Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1871

The Caprice was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1871 by Brown & Lovell in East Boston, Massachusetts for Peter McEnany and other New York pilots. In 1876, she was run down and sank, off Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, by the steamship New Orleans. She was raised and was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. The Caprice was last reported sailing off the coast of New York in 1891.

<i>Hermann Oelrichs</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot Boat

The Hermann Oelrichs was a 19th-century Sandy Hook Pilot boat, built in 1894 by Moses Adams at Essex, Massachusetts for a group of New York Pilots. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. The Herman Oelrichs was said to be the fastest of the New York pilot fleet. She was built to replace the pilot boat Hope, that was wrecked in 1890.

<i>Edmund Blunt</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

Edmund Blunt was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built in 1858 by Edward F. Williams for the New York Pilots. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Blunt along with other pilot boats, were replaced with steamboats. She was built to replace the Jacob L. Westervelt, which sank in 1857.

<i>Edward Cooper</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

The Edward Cooper was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1879 for New York Pilots at Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She was named in honor of the Mayor of New York City. The Edward Cooper helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In 1892, the Cooper sank in a snowstorm and was replaced by the Joseph Pulitzer in 1894.

Thomas D. Harrison New Jersey Pilot boat

Thomas D. Harrison was a 19th-century New York pilot boat built for New Jersey pilots. She was launched from the Jacob S. Ellis & Son shipyard, at Tottenville, Staten Island in 1875. The Harrison went ashore in the Great Blizzard of 1888 with no lives lost. She continued as a pilot boat with Pilot Stephen Cooper in command. She was purchased in 1897 by Allerton D. Hitch and used for coastal trade in the Cape Verde islands off the west African coast.

<i>Favorita</i> (pilot boat) New York Pilot boat

Favorite or Favorita, was a 19th-century New York Sandy Hook pilot boat built in the early 1820s. She helped transport New York City maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. Favorite collided with a United States steamer and sank in 1865 near Barnegat Lighthouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Hook Pilots Association</span> Association of pilots

Sandy Hook Pilots Association is in Staten Island, New York, United States. The Association provides pilotage services to all foreign flag vessels and American vessels entering or departing the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson River, the East River, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Jamaica Bay, and Long Island Sound as required by state law. Pilotage is provided on a 24-hour basis, 365 days of the year in all weather conditions and port circumstances. It has 50 employees across its locations and generates $7.15 million in sales (USD).

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "pilot | Search Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com.
  2. 1 2 Cunliffe, Tom, Pilots: Pilot, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar Wooden Boat Publications. Brooklin, Maine. 2001
  3. ↑ Tribune, Larry Fruhling Larry Fruhling is a special correspondent for the (8 August 1999). "PUSH THAT BARGE". chicagotribune.com.
  4. ↑ Rueb, Emily (17 November 2016). "The Channel Masters of New York Harbor". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Merchant Shipping Act, 1894" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  6. ↑ "Pilotage Act 1987" (PDF).
  7. ↑ Pilot commission - overview (PDF), Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, 7 October 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2011, retrieved 3 December 2011
  8. ↑ Vallance, Kevin (2024). The Pilot Ladder Manual - 2nd Edition (2024). Edinburgh: Witherby Publishing Group. ISBN   9781914993565.
  9. ↑ "Shipping Industry Guidance on Pilot Transfer Arrangements Ensuring Compliance with SOLAS" (PDF) (2nd ed.). Marisec Publications. 2012 [2008]. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Recommendations for the Helicopter Transfer of Marine Pilots". www.heliheyn.de. 9 August 1996.
  11. ↑ Video showing embarkation of helipilot on deck Matz Maersk on YouTube
  12. ↑ Congress, United States. "Reports and Documents" – via Google Books.
  13. ↑ Unique Institutions, Indispensable Cogs, and Hoary Figures: Understanding Pilotage Regulation in the United States BY PAUL G. KIRCHNER AND CLAYTON L. DIAMOND
  14. ↑ "Proceedings - American Merchant Marine Conference". Propeller Club of the United States. March 12, 1956 – via Google Books.
  15. ↑ "Pilotage Law - GARD". www.gard.no.
  16. ↑ "Pilotage Act 1987". legislation.gov.uk.
  17. ↑ "Pilotage Exemption Certificates". Mobility and Transport - European Commission. 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  18. ↑ Peterson, Patrick (1 March 2010). "Harbor pilots steer clear of rule change". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 14A. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Jacklet, Ben (2009-10-30) [2004-10-19]. "Columbia pilot pay attracts port's eye". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  20. ↑ Dibner, Brent (December 8, 2008). "Review and Analysis of Harbor Pilot Net Revenues and Salary Levels" (PDF). West Gulf Maritime Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  21. ↑ "The United New York & New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association". www.dnb.com. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  22. ↑ Palmeri, Christopher; Yap, Rodney (1 December 2011). "Los Angeles Port Pilots Steer for $374,000 a Year While Long Beach Profits". Bloomberg Businessweek . New York, New York. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  23. ↑ History of Loodswezen Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine about organized marine pilots in the Netherlands. Visited 3 April 2013.
  24. ↑ "Harbour Pilot/Kaiurungi Aka". Career Services/Rapuara. NewZealand.govt.nz. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2010.

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