1. Overview — Master, Pilot and Shared Responsibility
Source: NAYAK, Capt. Santosha K. Theory and Practices of Marine Pilotage. Chapter 4 — Master-Pilot Information Exchange (MPiX).
Syllabus: Anexo 2-B, Área II (Arte Naval), item 8 (NAYAK), Cap. 4 — troca de informações Comandante–Prático; plano de passagem. Cross-list Área III, item 6.
The generally accepted principle in shipping is that the ship's master has the ultimate responsibility for the safe navigation of his ship. Once the vessel enters pilotage waters the master becomes almost wholly dependent on the pilot — he has little or no local knowledge and little room in decision making — yet he still remains fully responsible for the pilot's advice being executed during the manoeuvre. It looks contradictory, but that is the custom.
The master must therefore be cooperative with the pilot yet assertive. He should remember that he is in command, not the pilot; he must satisfy himself that the pilot is doing his duties correctly, and he must be ready to take over if the pilot is not. In harbour limits pilotage is usually compulsory, and manoeuvring the vessel there is a critical affair carried out by a composite unit of two teams — ship's bridge team and pilot — working in coherence and mutual co-operation.
The pilot, master and bridge personnel share responsibility for good communications and for a mutual understanding of each other's role. They should clarify their respective roles and responsibilities so that the pilot is easily integrated into the normal bridge management team. The pilot's primary duty is to provide accurate information to ensure safe navigation; in practice he often cons the ship on the master's behalf. The master and his bridge personnel keep the duty to support the pilot and to monitor his actions, including querying any action or omission inconsistent with the passage plan or with the safety of the ship.
Pilot and master should exchange information about the pilot's intentions and the ship's characteristics and operational parameters as soon as possible after the pilot has boarded. To that end both complete the Master/Pilot Exchange (MPiX) forms, which help ensure the information is readily available and that nothing is omitted in error.
The master retains the ultimate responsibility for the safety of his ship. He and his bridge personnel have a duty to support the pilot and to monitor his actions, including querying any actions or omissions by the pilot (or any other bridge team member) if inconsistent with the passage plan or if the safety of the ship is in any doubt.
2. Pre-boarding Information Exchange and Preparations
Before arrival the ship provides the relevant port or pilotage authority with basic information about its arrival intentions and characteristics — such as draught and dimensions — as required by port or statutory obligations. Some ports now also ask the arriving vessel to send a photo of the securing arrangements of the pilot ladder on main deck. This exchange should be completed well in advance of the planned arrival and in accordance with local requirements, and the information received is passed to the attending pilot so he can plan the manoeuvre.
On receiving the information about the incoming vessel, the pilot ensures that he is properly prepared before the act of pilotage.
- He is adequately rested, in good physical and mental fitness, and not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- He prepares information for incorporation into the ship's passage plan.
- He updates himself with navigational, hydrographic and bathymetric information.
- He finds out the existing and forecast weather and other meteorological information.
- He finds out the planned traffic movements within the pilotage area.
- He establishes communication with the ship to arrange boarding.
In acknowledging receipt, the port or pilotage authority passes relevant information back to the ship as soon as it is available, including as a minimum the pilot boarding point, the reporting and communication procedures, and enough detail of the prospective berth, anchorage and routing for the master to prepare a provisional passage plan to the berth before arrival.
Once the pilot on board (POB) time and position have been passed to the ship, the master and bridge personnel ensure the crew are adequately rested and fit; prepare a provisional passage plan from the preliminary information; keep all equipment ready; establish communication with the pilot station to confirm boarding details; and provide sufficient personnel to embark the pilot safely and expediently.
3. Information from the Master in MPiX
As soon as the pilot boards, the master furnishes a structured set of information about the ship. The full list is long and every point has a specific bearing on safe berthing; masters often skip items that seem obvious for the ship or port, but the advice is to study the whole list, because a small but relevant fact given at the right time can break a chain of misses and prevent a disaster.
| Category | What the master reports |
|---|---|
| Engine | Type and BHP; propeller type — right-hand, left-hand or CPP; critical RPM; minimum number of consecutive starts; astern power as a percentage of ahead power; emergency full-ahead-to-full-astern time; stop-to-full-astern time; time limit astern; minimum speeds at which astern engine may be given; RPM indicators on and off the bridge. |
| Speed | Speed at various RPMs and whether the declared RPMs are being achieved; minimum RPM; display of SOG, STW and bottom-tracking GPS speed; thrusters and their power, if fitted. |
| Steering | Rudder type and maximum rudder angle; hard-over time (35°→30°) with one and with two power units; minimum speed to hold course with propeller stopped; rudder angle giving neutral effect; status of rudder-angle indicators. |
| Anchor | Type of anchors and their holding power; number of shackles on each anchor; maximum rate of heaving (shackle speed). |
| Manoeuvring | Stopping ability; turning ability; turning circle; tactical diameter; blind sector at the bow. |
| Lights & equipment | Working condition of lights, shapes and sound signals; status of electronic aids to navigation, communication and GMDSS; all bridge controls satisfactory; crew versed in the language of pilot commands. |
| Drafts & displacement | Forward, aft and maximum draft, and trim; drafts relative to allowable zones; displacement; GM and tenderness; windage area; other stability information. |
| Squat | Ready-reference squat table; block coefficient (Cb); blockage factor relative to the available channel; UKC after allowing for squat and safety margins. |
| Mooring | Type, length and size of mooring ropes (polypropylene, nylon, wire or natural fibre) and whether enough for the berth; number and type of fairleads; bollards and their SWL; number of mooring winches; securing points for tugs; cooling-water egress location. |
| Towing | SWL of mooring/towing equipment; which fairleads suit securing the tugs; if off-centre with a single tug, this is flagged specifically to the pilot; pushing-point strength; a reinforced belt where no pushing points are marked is conveyed to the tug master. |
3.1 Air draft
Air draft is the height of the highest point of the vessel above the surface of the water. It governs the head clearance when passing below a bridge or an overhead gantry, so the master reports it explicitly. It is obtained by subtracting the maximum draft from the height of the highest point measured from the keel (H).
3.2 The Pilot Card
The information is summarised on the Pilot Card, a standard sheet of the ship's particulars, engine data and manoeuvring characteristics handed to the pilot on boarding. It groups the data under three headings.
| Pilot Card block | Fields |
|---|---|
| Ship's particulars | Name and call sign; displacement and deadweight (tonnes); year built; length OA and breadth (m); bulbous bow yes/no; drafts fwd, aft and amidships (m); port and starboard anchor in shackles — 1 shackle = 27.4 m / 15 fathoms. |
| Engine | Type; maximum power (kW / HP); rpm or pitch with loaded and ballast speeds for full, half, slow and dead-slow ahead and astern; full astern as % of full-ahead power; critical rpm; maximum consecutive starts; time full-ahead-to-full-astern (s); time limit astern (min). |
| Manoeuvring / drafts | Fore, aft and amidships distances; loaded and ballast draft values (see Fig. 4-1). |
4. Information from the Pilot in MPiX
After the master furnishes ship data, the pilot assesses it, modifies his manoeuvring plans and discusses them with the master. Before explaining the plans, he informs the master on a matching set of local factors. As with the master's list, pilots often skip these as a "waste of time", but the strong advice is to mention every relevant point at the earliest opportunity.
| Category | What the pilot reports |
|---|---|
| Topography & seabed | Channel type, depth, width and restrictions; channel configuration; difference between charted and actual depths and available margins; local GPS anomalies; breakwater and its effect; space inside the breakwater; turning-basin and berth locations; distance POB-to-berth; navigational hazards; nature of the seabed and any rocky patches. |
| Current & tidal streams | Currents and tidal streams — strength and direction at various points. |
| Weather | Present wind speed and direction and its effect given the windage area; swell direction and height; tide and its range; rain and visibility. |
| Tugs | Number, type and size of tugs; ship's lines or tug line; method of passing the line (messenger lines to the warping drum); preferred fairlead; maximum securing speed; bollard pull; VHF channels; approach of the tugs. |
| Shallow-water effects | Locations and any peculiarity of shallow-water effect on the route, and the reasons where it differs from the general behaviour. |
| Local nav aids | Lateral marks, isolated-danger and cardinal buoys not updated on the BA charts and their working status; updated local or national charts handed to the master; transit or sector lights; virtual AIS buoys; RACON marks; useful landmarks and reference points. |
| Communications | VHF and local working channels during manoeuvring; emergency contact numbers; GMDSS walkie-talkie on standby if the pilot's VHF fails. |
| VTMS | VTMS control and communication procedure; local warnings from the VTMS; reporting requirements. |
| Limitations & restrictions | Port L&R already complied with — limitations of draft, length and width; restrictions on cargo, origin ports and local/national regulations. |
| Contingency | Measures for a malfunction or shipboard emergency; possible abort points; safe grounding areas. |
| Roles & checklists | Agreed roles of master, pilot and bridge team from POB until all lines fast; any port checklists to be signed by both before commencement. |
| Certificates | Pilotage certificates and declarations (manoeuvring, handling, damage to port infrastructure) the master fills and signs before the passage is taken over. |
Taking this into account, the master compares the pilot's suggested plan with the one developed on board. Pilot and master should agree an overall final plan early in the passage, before the ship is committed to leave the pilot boarding point for the berth.
5. Paramount Duties of the Pilot before Commencing Pilotage
Beyond the advisory role toward the master on safe navigation and manoeuvring from the pilot station to the berth, every pilot carries a paramount duty to safety, security and protection of the environment, and an obligation to national and international requirements. These duties apply at all times when on duty.
- Commit to safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, safety of port infrastructure and prevention of pollution at all times.
- Report to the appropriate authority anything observed that may affect safety of navigation or pollution prevention, including any incident to the piloted ship.
- Refuse pilotage when the ship is believed to pose a danger to the safety of navigation or to the environment — any refusal, with its reason, reported immediately to the authority.
- Assist port, national and flag authorities in reporting and investigating incidents involving ships under pilotage, subject to the relevant laws.
Pilots should meet or exceed the requirements set down in IMO Assembly Resolution A.485(XII) and its annexes.
6. Plans Drawn Up by the Pilot for the Vessel's Movement
The pilot prepares a comprehensive passage plan after weighing every relevant factor, and it must be thoroughly explained to, and understood by, the master and bridge team. Compared with an ordinary oceanic passage plan it carries several extra elements, and it decomposes into nine elementary plans.
When the pilot boards, both parties are often under time pressure, so there is a precarious window for the "modification and discussion" stage.
| # | Plan | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Route plan | Waypoints, course and expected speed on each leg from POB to berth; expected hazards; minimum depth and WOP for each alteration; sea-room width; white and blue margins; emergency anchorages; turning basins; berth identification. |
| 2 | Channel entry plan | Marked CEMA; entry point matched to draft vs available depth; present and expected set and drift; course and speed at the entrance; buoy shift from wind/current; acute-angle entry; channel width vs vessel width with margins. |
| 3 | Critical points | Points where unusual engine or steering orders are needed — bars/shallow patches, very narrow points, excessive cross-currents, large alterations, restricted S-bends — flagged early so the team stays calm. |
| 4 | Speed control plan | Planned speed reduction from channel entry to zero at the berth; keeps stopping distances tolerable, limits interaction with other ships, reduces squat, protects port structures, keeps the vessel under control. |
| 5 | Plan of manoeuvres | Best combination of scarce resources (engine, helm, inertia, anchor, lines, tugs, thrusters, current, wind) to change course/speed in restricted sea-room; stick to the plan unless forced to change; be ready with emergency manoeuvres for failures of engine, steering, tugs or tug lines. |
| 6 | Tugs usage plan | Number, type and capacity of tugs; fairlead position; bollard position and SWL; bollard pull; approach — reviewed whenever the manoeuvring plan changes. |
| 7 | Berthing / un-berthing plan | Berth identification and approach until safely docked with all lines fast; berth types (wharf, open/closed side berth, SBM, SPM, anchor, double banking); un-berthing from making fast the tug to clearing the berth; pilot co-ordinates tugs, linesmen and crew. |
| 8 | Mooring arrangement plan | Line configuration (e.g. 4+2, 4+2+2, 3+2) by ship size, berth and weather; special line lengths; mooring anchors if planned; reinforcement of the most-loaded lines in cyclonic or heavy-rain conditions. |
| 9 | Contingency plans | Measures for malfunction or shipboard emergency: alternative resources, emergency manoeuvres, possible abort points and safe grounding areas. |
All plans are discussed by the pilot with the master before commencing pilotage; any master's question or objection is resolved first, and the plans are finally agreed between pilot and master.
7. Conduct of Passage in Pilotage Waters
Efficient pilotage depends on effective communication and information exchange between pilot, master and bridge personnel, and on the mutual understanding each has of the others' functions. The master and bridge personnel ensure the pilot's directions are conveyed to the crew and correctly implemented, and that the crew feed relevant information back. The master advises the pilot once a direction has been complied with, where an omission has occurred, or if a potential problem exists. It is preferable that the master operates key equipment, since only he knows its limitations and best use.
The presence of a pilot on the ship does not relieve the master or the officer in charge of the navigational watch from their duties and obligations for the safe conduct of the ship.
While the pilot advises, the bridge team keeps a defined discipline.
- English, a mutually agreed common language, or the IMO SMCP is used.
- Every member helps highlight any perceived error or omission by others, for clarification.
- The master and bridge personnel interact with the pilot, confirming directions and giving feedback when complied with.
- The team monitors at all times the ship's speed and position, manoeuvring responses, traffic density and weather.
- The team checks the positions of navigational aids and alerts the pilot to any inconsistency.
- The pilot reports to the relevant authority any irregularity in the passage, including deficiencies in the operation, manning or equipment of the ship.
Ideally pilot, master and OOW discuss and agree the intended passage plan before commencing, and keep to the same information platform throughout. A continuous action–feedback–crosscheck mechanism runs during the whole pilotage to prevent any error.