1. Overview
Source: INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF SHIPPING. Bridge Procedures Guide. 6th ed. London: ICS, 2022. Chapter 6 — Pilotage (overview and shared responsibility; preparation for pilotage — passage plan, ship and bridge team, the pilot, the pilot card; safe pilot boarding — boarding time and embarking; the Master/pilot information exchange (MPX); duties and responsibilities of the bridge team and of the pilot; manoeuvring — mooring operations and use of tugs and mooring boats; outbound passage plan; pilotage exemption certificates (PECs); deep sea pilots).
Syllabus: Anexo 2-B, Área III (Navegação em Águas Restritas), item 3 — III.03 (ICS Bridge Procedures Guide), Cap. 6. Anexo 2-A, Área III — a praticagem: preparação para o embarque do prático, Master-Pilot Exchange (MPX), papel do prático x responsabilidade do Comandante e do OOW, monitoramento e cross-check das ações do prático pelo bridge team, comunicação durante a praticagem, transferência do prático (SOLAS V/23) e cooperação bridge team-prático.
Pilotage is one of the phases where the syllabus (Anexo 2-A, Área III) meets the candidate's own future job: the pilot boards the ship to bring specialist local knowledge and ship-handling and tug-management skill to bear during the most critical and potentially hazardous phases of a voyage. This chapter should be read together with bridge team organisation (chapter 2) and passage planning (chapter 3) of the Guide (p. 119).
The governing idea is shared responsibility: safe pilotage rests on effective co-ordination between the Master, the rest of the bridge team and the pilot. Efficient pilotage lets the ship navigate safely and follows five principles the Guide sets out as a poster — share navigation information, respect each other, communicate throughout the voyage, work together, and stay alert (Fig. 6.1, p. 120).
Personnel ashore and afloat should be trained in and practise bridge resource management (BRM) (Guide section 2.2). A pilot is not always mandatory: if a ship's officer holds a valid pilotage exemption certificate (PEC) issued by the responsible authority, it may not be necessary to engage a pilot in pilotage waters, and in certain circumstances remote pilotage may be provided by a shore-based pilot (p. 119).
2. Preparation for Pilotage
2.1 The passage plan
The berth-to-berth passage plan already contains the information needed for navigation in pilotage waters (Guide section 3.4.3). The Master should be ready to accept any necessary amendments to that plan once the pilot boards and an appropriate discussion has taken place; any agreed change should also be passed to the OOW (p. 119).
Crucially, the appraisal and planning done before arrival is not a substitute for a full Master/pilot information exchange covering the most up-to-date information when the pilot embarks. Port authorities may ask for specific information ahead of arrival, and the Master should be prepared to provide it, as summarised below (p. 119).
| What the port may require in advance | Content |
|---|---|
| Ship particulars | Any of the particulars listed in checklists C1.1 and C1.2 |
| Declarations | Cargo, stores, crew, passengers and dangerous goods |
| Arrival intentions | Including arrangements for cargo discharge and bunkering |
2.2 The ship and bridge team
Beyond the full passage plan, three preparations should take place before the pilot arrives: the bridge team is briefed on the pilotage and on the duties of those involved; the pilot card (checklist C1.2) is completed; and communications are set up with the pilot, port VTS and port authorities as appropriate (p. 121).
2.3 The pilot
The Master should expect the pilot to be qualified, certified, experienced in the intended pilotage, and adequately rested and alert, and has the right to request a replacement pilot if considered necessary (p. 121). The relationship runs both ways: a pilot may refuse to conduct a pilotage if they believe the ship may endanger the safety of navigation or the environment, and may then have to report the reason to the appropriate authority (p. 121).
The Master should also understand that the pilot is expected to report, without delay, to the appropriate authority: any circumstance affecting the safety of navigation or the prevention of pollution; any accident or near miss during the pilotage; and any irregularities with navigational lights, shapes and signals on board (p. 121).
2.4 The pilot card
The pilot card is updated to carry all details of the current ship condition and the information relevant to the passage and port. It is important to record every defect that may affect the ship's manoeuvrability or the pilotage and to give the pilot clear details of it. The card format should follow the IMO standard format (checklist C1.2) (p. 121).
3. Safe Pilot Boarding
3.1 Pilot boarding time
To leave enough time for a comprehensive exchange of information, the ship should be ready to embark the pilot at the agreed time. Delays in embarkation eat into the time available for a detailed exchange and for any last-minute amendments to the passage plan (p. 121).
3.2 Embarking the pilot
The Master should ensure that a properly maintained means of pilot embarkation and disembarkation is ready, positioned, rigged, checked and manned. If the pilot embarks by helicopter, the ICS Guide to Helicopter/Ship Operations should be consulted (p. 121–122).
The pilot, in turn, should use appropriate personal protective equipment and liaise with the Master so the ship is positioned and manoeuvred for safe boarding; the pilot may be expected to check that the boarding equipment appears properly rigged and manned (p. 122).
4. Master/Pilot Information Exchange (MPX)
The Master/pilot information exchange (MPX) is the heart of the pilotage. As soon as possible after boarding, the pilot and the Master exchange information about the pilot's intentions, the ship's characteristics and operational factors. To keep it clear and effective, the MPX checklist (checklist C1.1) should be used (p. 122).
| The MPX should cover | Detail |
|---|---|
| Pilot card | Presentation of a completed standard pilot card (checklist C1.2) |
| Passage plan | The plan and the circumstances for deviating from it; changes to the plan and to individual bridge-team responsibilities agreed before pilotage begins |
| Local conditions | Weather, depth of water, tides and tidal streams |
| Traffic | An update on traffic conditions |
| Manoeuvring data | Ship's dimensions and manoeuvring information via the wheelhouse poster (checklist C1.3); a manoeuvring booklet with more detail also on the bridge |
| Limitations | Any unusual handling characteristics and machinery, navigational-equipment or crew limitations affecting safe pilotage and berthing |
| Berthing arrangements | Use, characteristics and number of tugs, mooring boats, mooring arrangements and other external facilities |
| Contingency plans | Possible abort points for a malfunction or shipboard emergency |
| Working language | Formal confirmation of the working language |
All defects that might affect the manoeuvrability of the ship or the pilotage should be reported to the pilot. In some cases a debriefing with the pilot after pilotage helps the bridge team improve future operations (p. 122).
4.1 Extra pilots
If more than one pilot is required, or supernumerary pilots board, all pilots take part in the MPX, and each pilot's role, responsibility and duty periods should be understood by the entire bridge team (p. 122).
5. Duties and Responsibilities
The Master carries ultimate responsibility for the safety of the ship and the prevention of pollution, and the bridge team is not relieved of its responsibility for safe navigation once the pilot boards. The pilot passes expert local knowledge, information and advice to the bridge team in English or another agreed working language, and is in turn supported by the shipboard personnel in carrying out safe navigation (p. 123).
5.1 Bridge team responsibilities
The bridge team must have enough people to carry out the monitoring and cross-checking that keeps the pilot's actions inside a safe envelope. This is the syllabus core: the team does not hand the ship over to the pilot, it watches over the pilotage (p. 124).
- Operate the navigation equipment and give assistance and advice to the pilot.
- Monitor the actions of the pilot and of the other bridge-team members.
- Monitor ship's progress against the passage plan by track monitoring and regular position fixing, particularly after each course alteration.
- Monitor UKC (under keel clearance).
- Check verbal orders from the pilot and confirm they are carried out correctly.
- Watch the ROT, rudder-angle and RPM indicators when helm and engine orders are given.
- Identify misunderstandings and seek clarification immediately if in any doubt.
- Advise the Master if there is any doubt about the ship's safety.
5.2 Pilot's responsibilities
Throughout the pilotage and berthing, the pilot has a matching set of duties toward the team (p. 124):
- Use the agreed working language and, if necessary, the IMO SMCP when directing or communicating with the bridge team.
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of each bridge-team member.
- Use the manoeuvring-characteristics information given during the MPX.
- Respond to information, advice and questions from the bridge team.
- Inform the team of any failures or deficiencies — such as the unavailability of tugs — in good time.
- Inform the team of pilotage progress and of any anticipated need to deviate from the passage plan.
- Inform the team of any handover between pilots.
6. Manoeuvring
6.1 Mooring operations
The pilot and the Master should discuss and agree how and when the pilot may directly operate the controls for key equipment — main engine, helm and thrusters. Because the pilot may not be familiar with the propulsion system or its characteristics, the rule is protective:
During mooring, the pilot co-ordinates the work of the bridge team, tugs, mooring boats and linesmen and explains their intentions and actions. To support the pilot, the Master and bridge team should ensure the pilot's directions reach the mooring stations and are correctly executed, ensure the mooring stations give feedback, and inform the pilot once directions are carried out — or where an omission or a potential problem exists (p. 124–125).
6.2 Use of tugs and mooring boats
The number of tugs, how they will operate (on a line or alongside), and their capabilities and limitations form part of the MPX and should be understood by the bridge team; the size and power of the tugs must suit the size of the ship (p. 125).
Communications between the pilot, tugs and mooring boats are monitored and checked, and the pilot keeps the bridge team informed of the orders given — particularly if not in English or the ship's working language. Any concern is reported to the Master and pilot. Tugs and mooring boats must not be endangered by the ship's actions, especially when making fast or letting go, and the team must understand the effects of interaction between ships, tugs, mooring boats and fixed structures (p. 125).
7. Preparing the Outbound Passage Plan
After berthing, the outbound passage plan may be discussed with the pilot to support the appraisal and planning stages of the plan. This is a head-start, not a shortcut: a complete MPX should still take place before departure (p. 125).
8. Pilotage Exemption Certificates (PECs)
Where pilotage is compulsory, a ship engages a pilot unless an officer on board holds a PEC issued by the pilotage authority for that specific port or pilotage area (p. 125).
The presence of a PEC holder on board does not prevent the Master from requesting a pilot if necessary (p. 125).
9. Deep Sea Pilots
Deep sea pilotage is a service for navigation in confined and busy waters. In certain areas, IMO Resolutions strongly advise using deep sea pilots, and companies and Masters should give due consideration to these recommendations (p. 125).