Marine Pilots & their role in the maritime industry

What is a Marine Pilot?

A Marine Pilot is known in the maritime industry under many names, such as marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, or ship pilot. However, they all hold the same responsibilities and all have the same high importance in the proper functioning of the maritime industry. So what does a marine pilot do, and how do they affect the maritime industry and global trade?

We begin by defining what a Marine Pilot is and does. Pilots are highly trained experts in ship navigation, with rich knowledge of specific waters and extensive knowledge of local conditions. Their role is to guide marine vessels safely through their area, ensuring the safety of the environment, people and trade.

A respected & difficult job.

This is a job that carries high responsibility as it is often difficult, demanding, and dangerous. However, it’s a particularly rewarding and highly respected career, and maritime pilots are considered to be the elite of marine professionals, as they’re required to know a truly immense amount of details about the waterways they work such as depth, currents, and hazards, as well as being required to display flawless expertise in handling ships of all types and sizes.

Obtaining the title ‘maritime pilot’ requires being an expert ship handler licensed or authorized by a recognized pilotage authority. To start with, pilots are required to have maritime experience before becoming a pilot, including local knowledge of the area.  Pilots are also the main liaison persons in the event of an accident or incident at the harbor. They are responsible for firefighting, port safety, and security, among others, so they must have experience in all of these fields to be considered for the job.

It’s important to mention that another difficult side of the job is that pilots work a roster, which means they have to always be ready to be dispatched to a job at any time of night or day. The roster is designed to ensure adequately rested pilot personnel is available 24/7. They may work irregular hours, often at night and on weekends and holidays.

In terms of demand, the job is high on the list as pilots are required by law in most major seaports of the world for large ships. 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 first-hand experience.

Why doesn’t a captain do this job?

A question might come to mind when considering the role of a marine pilot: why can’t the sea captain be the pilot? Should the captain not know how to navigate in all circumstances?

According to Captain Martin Lim, a maritime pilot based in Malaysia’s Port Klang terminal, there is no comparison between those two positions, as they are very different and both provide an essential and unique service to the shipping industry.

He explains that a marine pilot only controls ships when they’re in crowded harbors or other confined waters. Although the captain is an expert in maneuvering the ship and crew very well, the pilot offers assistance and expertise in a particular waterway, where there might be particular difficulties and hurdles. Their collaboration ensures that the vessel navigates through the waters safely and promptly.

“Captains’ and pilots’ relationship is an intriguing balance of mutual trust and respect, largely unwritten, which provides an unrivaled level of safety in a society that expects, and receives, the highest of standards from the shipping industry”, the European Maritime Pilots’ Association stated.

How does a Marine Pilot affect the maritime industry? 

This brings us to the important role played by marine pilots in the maritime industry. Their job is to make sure everything goes smoothly for all types and sizes of ships, which means their contribution to the workings of the industry is immeasurable. As per Lloyds List, there are more than 2900 ports globally, and they are the ones who make sure that each of those ports avoids oil or chemical spills, shipping delays, danger to ship crews & ships, and many other problems that would arise if they were not there to manage the situation.

Here’s an illustration of the magnitude of the impact of their work: there are currently around 99,800 ships of 100 gross tons and above circumnavigating the globe carrying cargoes of every conceivable size, type, and capacity facilitating global trade of around $28.5 trillion. Other than cargo ships, there are also ships carrying passengers, laying underwater cables, carrying out research, and many such activities which require safety measures to be taken very seriously, and marine pilots manage that responsibility.

The importance of employing qualified pilots in ports and other areas where specialized local knowledge is required was formally recognized by IMO in 1968 when the Organization adopted Assembly resolution A.159 (ES.IV) Recommendation on Pilotage. The resolution recommends that all governments organize pilotage services where they would be likely to prove more effective than other measures and to define the ships and classes of ships for which employment of a pilot would be mandatory.

In a nutshell, a marine pilot is one of the many vital cogs that make up the machine that is the maritime industry, and they affect the globe’s well-being and safety every day.