Introduction to Marine Pilotage Who are Marine Pilots? Duties and Responsibilities of Marine Pilots ‘Maritime History of World and Role of Marine Pilots Present Day Marine Pilotage Essentiol Services Provided to the World Trade and Economy Role of Pilots in Marine Safety and Accident Prevention vvvvvy Share of maritime trade in the total composite value of world trade is ever increasing, More than 90% of trade is, estimated to be transported by sea. With the growth of world economy there is constant growth in world shipping activities in a globalised world. In the maritime history of world, the story of the evolution of ships and shipping practices is quite interesting and worth knowing. The shipping practices of past shaped the nature and characteristics of the world trade today and would continue to shape the future of the world trade. With the advent of new technology in shipbuilding, navigation and control systems, shipping in the world has become more secure and efficient. Technology though brings efficiency, the objectives, basic principles and practices in shipping remain same over decades, centuries and eons!!! Seafarers around the world put all their efforts to accomplish the task of marine trade overseas. However their efforts mostly go unnoticed to the general public. The role of seafarers is indispensible to the growth of world economy. The brightness in the glorious tales of world trade and economy hails from the hard sacrifices and ‘commitment of the world’s seafarers!!! Who are Marine Pilots? Marine pilot is a navigational expert who manoeuvres ships through dangerous water ways including narrow channels, canals, straits, anchorages and within harbour limits and guides the ships along the safest route to their safe berth inside harbour. They have expertise in complex manoeuvring of ships- small and large, light or heavy, propelled or un-propelled, assisted or unassisted. They have knowledge on the features of specific waterways — above and below the sea surfaces, depth and heights, winds and currents, tides — surge and streams. They have experience in handling the ships in extreme hazardous conditions. They are avid readers of weather by observing the sea surface, the sky colour and texture, the smell and temperatures of the wind. In English law, Section 742 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 defines a pilot as “any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof." Thus Pilot is someone other than a member of the crew who has control over the speed, direction, and movement of the ship. Armed with knowledge — in and out of a specific waterway, Marine pilots manoeuvre ships from dangerous waters to safe berths so as to facilitate the loading and discharging of cargo and or other marine services in the seaports. In addition to local knowledge and expertise, Marine Pilots are able to provide effective communication with the managers of navigational aids, personnel of other water crafts, port authorities, flag states, if need be. Though marine pilot profession is relatively unknown, it happens to be one of the oldest professions of the world. Pilotage, as a profession, was developed thousands of years ago. Earliest records of the use of locally experienced harbour captains to guide trading ships into port safely date back to ancient Indus Valle and Roman times. Seafarers around the world very well understand who a marine pilot is. A master of a vessel best understands what a Marine Pilot stands for. And without their invaluable services, probably the world trade would come to a standstill. For a person from outside maritime world, anybody can gauge the importance of Marine Pilots from amount of chaos it created to the world trade in the recent incident of Suez Canal blockage by a giantContainer vessel in the month of March 2021. So, in short I can say, Marine Pilots act as facilitator of maritime trade. As per the local port regulations, most of the vessels are required to employ pilots compulsorily except in some cases to manoeuvre the vessels into the approach channels and subsequently into the harbour limits in most of the sea ports of the world. There are some exceptions do exist, especially for regular vessels, when port authorities provide Pilot Exemption Certificates to the masters of such vessels, Duties and Responsibility of Marine Pilots Marine Pilotage is one of the oldest and least-known professions of world. Though it is least-known, itis one of the most important links in maritime commercial trade. The actual economic and environmental risks involving in large ships make the role of the pilots extremely essential providing safety to ship passages, safety of life at sea and protection of the marine environment. Any mistake in ship's navigation has potential to reach situations which lead to disastrous consequences. Thus shipmasters along with marine pilots are important and inevitable contributors to the safety of ships and lives on board and existence of shipping activities. They also help in protection of the marine environment including marine life and their habitats. The masters being seasoned navigators with many sailing years of experience under their belt have all the knowledge about the ship, her manoeuvring characteristics and peculiar behaviour etc. They are the sole handler of the ships when vessel is out at sea, But there are situations and places which demands greater skill and experience in the manoeuvring of ships in hazardous waters, or in limited sea-rooms, or in extreme traffic densities. In such situations and places, Ship master needs assistance- of the Mates, shore authorities and Pilots for the safe navigation of ships and trade as the situation demands. Although captains are experts at navigating their vessels, they are not experts on the specific navigational peculiarities of each port around the world. Moreover due to various geographical, geological and hydrodynamic factors, the navigational features of ports are changing regularly. The information on these real-time changes in navigational features is relatively unknown to the Ship masters. Therefore masters need the local expertise of a ‘marine pilot to ensure that their vessel and her crew, passengers and cargo arrive at the port in a safe condition, Furthermore the inexperience of masters in approaching a particular port adds to the fact that Marine Pilots are inevitable for execution of maritime commercial trades around the world The duties of maritime pilots are quite different from that of the ship’s Masters. When vessel transits in pilotage waters, or navigates with pilots on board, legally speaking, the master has full responsibility for safe navigation of their vessel even if a pilot is on board the vessel. Pilot is employed as an adviser to the master in safe manoeuvring of ships. Pilots never give any order to the members of the bridge team, He advises the master on the engine and helm orders. The master consequently gives order to the D/O ot the helms man to execute specific commands or himself executes the commands. Only in transit of the Panama Canal and in Canada does the pilot have the full responsibility for the navigation of the vessel and master is relieved of all accountability from navigation of vessel. However in some countries, Master who have strong local knowledge and experience of navigation in the specific ports, may be issued with a pilotage exemption certificate, which relieves them of the need to take a pilot on board. The role of the pilot increases when the size of the ship is large as well as when she is fully laden. The difficulty level further increases when depth below keel of ship is reduced. Many a time the depth reduces to very low level and vessel has to navigate in or out of the port in very less time window. Large and laden ships need the expertise and experience of pilots in manoeuvring in restricted waters as they are quite heavy and difficult to manoeuvre. Ship's Master develops a good rapport with the marine pilots and makes them feel comfortable while on board. If there is any miscommunication between them, it could lead to potentially disastrous consequences,Bridge procedures and bridge resource management principles still apply when a pilot is on board. The bridge ‘team must conduct a pre-passage briefing with the pilot to ensure a common understanding of the Passage Plan prior to its execution. Pilot, master and watch keepers must all participate fully, and in @ mutually supportive The master and bridge team have a duty to support the pilot and monitor his/her actions. This includes querying any actions or omissions by the pilot or any members of the bridge team, if inconsistent with the passage plan, or if the safety of the ship is in any doubt. If master, in his opinion, have grounds that the pilot may jeopardize the safety of navigation; the master may not follow pilot’s advice and may relieve the pilot from his duties. But practically nowadays ship masters ignore pilot's advice as master himself is inexperienced in navigation in heavily restricted waters and unaware of the local conditions of the waterway but to rely completely on the Pilots. Even if master relieves the pilot at any instance, the vessel has to wait till another pilot boards the vessel to start approaching to the harbour as pilotage is mostly compulsory affair. Waiting means delay in time. Nowadays “Delay” is highly scary word for the master to listen as it means loss of time and money heavily for the ship owner. Thus masters ‘are tied with commercial pressures. Further the vessel would be charged with pilot cancellation charges and book for another pilot at another differed time. Maritime History of World and Role of Marine Pilots The present work-status of the maritime pilots has been developed around a long legacy of the maritime history of the world, Maritime history traces its roots to 3000 BCE Indus Valley Civilization when its inhabitants initiated maritime trading contact with Mesopotamia, Lothal was a flourishing port in the Indus valley civilization on the ‘west coast of India in the present day Gujurat, its topography and geology reflects its maritime past. The use of pilots in the maritime trade has a long legacy since those days of Indus Valley Civilization. The work functions of the pilot go back to ancient civilizations of Indus Valley, Greece and Romans, when locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, were employed by incoming ships’ captains to bring their trading vessels into port safely There is a mention of local pilots being employed by the traders in the maritime history of Odisha, known as Kalinga in ancient times, in as early as 350 BC. The traders of Kalinga sailed up and down the Indian coast, and travelled to Southeast Asian countries and China, introducing elements of their culture to the people with whom they traded with. In Java, Sumatera and Borneo, they introduced Indian culture. The introduction of Indian culture created a demand for aromatics. The 6th century book “Manjusrimulakalpa” mentions the Bay of Bengal as ‘Kalingodra’. Historically the Bay of Bengal has been called ‘Kalinga Sagara’ means Kalinga Sea. This indicates the importance of Kalinga in the maritime trade. The old traditions are still celebrated in the annual Boita- Bandana festival held for five days in October / November. The term “pilot” appeared very early, in the 6th century BC, in Ezekiel’s book, where the term “pilot”, as “guide” of the ship, had already been frequently used. For as long as ships have been sailing the seas, there have been maritime pilots to assist them in their most treacherous passages. There are references to pilots, expert ship handlers with unrivalled local knowledge who assist or take over from ship's masters to guide vessels through dangerous or congested waters, in ancient texts such as the Bible and Homer’s Iliad, Existence of the ancestor of the maritime pilot may also be found in the book of Homére and Virgile: speaking about ““Thestor the pilot” Homére wrote in the first book of Iliad: “the person who guided the ships from Achaens to Llion”. The genesis of the word pilot may be traced to the Ancient Greek word an8év (pédén, "blade of an oar, oat"), The word pilot probably came from Middle French pilot, pillot, or from Italian ‘piloto’, Late Latin ‘pillottus’ The ancestral remarks on maritime pilots were found in the travel literatures, specifically in a Greek maritime book called “Periplus of Erythrean Sea” written in the Ist century AD. It names several Indian ports from where large ships sailed in an easterly direction. This Greek maritime book which deseribes sailing and trading opportunities from Roman-Egyptian ports along the coast of the Red Sea and along East Africa and India. This, book may be the ancestor of the current day Sailing Directions. Although the authors are unknown, these sailorswere undoubtedly very familiar with the currents and the dangers of the area. In other words, they can be considered the origin of contemporary maritime pilot. ‘The Roman historian Strabo mentions an increase in Roman trade with India following the Roman annexation of ppt. Strabo reports that during the time when Aelius Gallus was Prefect of Egypt (26-24 BCE), he saw 120 ships ready to leave for India at the Red Sea port of Myos Hormos, Textiles from India were in demand in Egypt, East Africa, and the Mediterranean between the Ist and 2nd centuries CE, and these regions became overseas markets for Indian exports. As trade between India and the Greco-Roman world increased, spices became the main import from India to the Western world in exchange of silk and other commodities. Indication such large scale trade between Indian and Greek-Roman world, must have been incomplete without marine pilots of those days, Quilon or Kollam in Kerala coast had @ high commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen in the course of his travels during twenty-four years. The Kollam Port was used to exchange the embassies with Chinese rulers and there was flourishing Chinese settlement at Quilon. The Indian commercial connection with Southeast Asia proved vital to the merchants of Arabia and Persia between the 7th and 8th centuries CE. The Chinese trade with Kollam must have been impossible without the contribution of local Pilots. The Arabs were very active in the domain of pilotage. In 1275, the first voyage of Marco Polo, the Venician traveller, was carried out with the help of Arab pilots. Marco Polo was in Chinese service under Kublakhan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast. ‘The Chola dynasty (200-1279) reached the peak of its influence and power during the medieval period. Emperors Rajaraja Chola I (985-1014) and Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044) extended the Chola kingdom beyond the traditional limits. Chola navies invaded and conquered Srivijaya and Srivijaya was the largest empire in Maritime Southeast Asia. Goods and ideas from India began to play a major role in the "Indianization” of the wider world from this period. The Tang dynasty (618-907) of China, the Srivijaya Empire in Maritime Southeast Asia under the Sailendras, and the Abbasid caliphate at Baghdad were the main trading partners. The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. ‘The use of pilots in the maritime trades with South East Asia has been recorded in many accounts. Towards the end of the ‘th century, southern India had developed extensive maritime and commercial activity. The contribution of the Emporer Rajendra Chola in the maritime history of India has been substantial. The Training Ship of India, T'S Rajendra (1972-1993) has been named after him. On orders of Manuel I of Portugal, four vessels under the command of navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, continuing to the eastern coast of Attica to sail across the Indian Ocean to Calicut. The Portuguese Empire was the first European empire to grow from spice trade. Vasco De Gama employed Arabs Pilots during his trip from the Cape of Good Hope to Calicut (India): “When Vasco de Gama had reached Malindi, on the east coast of Africa, in 1498, he was able to find a maritime adviser (Pilot), which led his expeditions straight to Calicut.” The fact is briefly reported in logbooks written by seafarers involved in the venture, some of them, also giving the name of the maritime advisers used, adding the need for their expertise. Because of the insufficient familiarity of the ship masters with areas they had to frequent for the trade it was recognized that the ship’s passage and handling in shallow waters required the local knowledge of pilots. Also because of the opening of new markets asks for international shipments to new and unexplored areas by ships demands local guides in the form of pilots. According to A. Marcantetti, the first tracks of maritime pilot's presence in England can be found in the 15th century in Scotland and England: “It is around group of sailors, with semiereligious vocation in a purpose of ‘mutual protection that the embryo of the pilotage was set up in UK”. In the North of Europe, the Dutch are considered as the leaders in the development of the pilotage. In 1633, the Dutch Fast Indian Company deployed her own pilots to Balasore, in Odisha Coast, 60 miles south of the entrance of the river Hugli. At that time, the pilot was either a crew member, or already a member of an organization ofpilotage. Their tasks were not only limit to pilot ships, but very often, pilots were publishing sea charts and recording the soundings. Before harbour boards were established, pilots known as hobblers would compete with one another. The first to reach an incoming ship would navigate it to the docks and receive payment. In Din Laoghaire, Ireland, there is a ‘monument to the hobblers who lost their lives. In Kent they were known as "hovellers” and worked alongside and in competition with the licensed pilots, but were sometimes blamed as wreckers. George Byng Gattie defends the hovellers or "hobilers" as lifesavers in his 1890 book about the Goodwin Sands. Since olden days, pilots had to have quick transport to get from the port to the incoming ships. They initially used their own fishing boats to reach the incoming vessels, but these were heavy working boats, which led to the development of the specialised pilot boat. Used for centuries, maritime pilots are charged with the tricky task of manoeuvring ships through dangerous and congested passages. Present Day Marine Pilotage With a long history of Marine Pilots, we can well understand their importance in execution of maritime trade as well as the safety of ships and cargo as well as marine environment. Professional pilotage has been around almost as long as ships have been commercially transiting the seas. The importance of pilotage to the maritime industry has not diminished with time. This is demonstrated by the fact that, unlike many other professions, modem technology has not threatened the pivotal role of the pilot with redundancy. The physical and economic realities of today’s shipping industry make pilots more vital than ever for the delicate task of manoeuvring ships of increasing size and advancing technology through risky and ever-changing territorial waters. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has acknowledged that as skills and labour shortages become more pronounced throughout the maritime industry, seafaring standards are slipping and existing crews are becoming more reliant on the experience and local knowledge that local pilots provide, As along as human civilization exists, they will trade, And execution of a successful trade needs pilots to play their roles. There was a demand in the past for their services. There also exist compulsory pilotage services in contemporary maritime age. Hopefully still the importance of marine pilots will prevail in future even with the advent of cutting edge technologies. In the age of artificial intelligence, big data and machine learning, you never know, in future gadgets would take over the duties of a pilot - many people say. But in my opinion, given the amount of potential risks and consequential costs would not allow technologies to take over the role of pilots in near future, Compated to the counterparts of the aviation industry, the low power-to-weight ratio of large ships creates completely different challenges to the maritime pilots. With ever increasing introduction of new technologies, the complex nature of ships and their characteristics pilotage needs more interface with technologies and hence better technical knowledge. With increasing ship sizes and draft limitations, handling ships are becoming increasingly difficult. Pilots, not only have to deal with the weather (winds, currents and tides) alone, but also additional challenges from shallow water conditions, very high momentum and use of extemal forees in the form of tugs. Development of new ports, expansion of harbours, building of new berths and positioning of million dollar equipment on berths all lead to heavy stakes in the form of infrastructure as well as cargo and logistics. Handling ships in proximity to these high value stakes, needs expertise as well as greater alertness to prevent hazardous situations. Along with being extreme alertness to ship handling, pilots has to divert their attention to essential communication with many factors on real time basis. Successful communication between the port control, tugs, jetty officers and ship's bridge team all together plays a significant role in carrying out a successful berthing orun-berthing of a ship. Furthermore, good communication is critical factor for pilots who dealing with new bridge teams on every movement every day In olden days the sizes of ships are smaller compared to modem day ships. And the trades were also not so extensive compared to today’s. The growing size of modem cargo ships has made pilots’ jobs more challenging than ever. This complex nature of trades, cargo and harbours has led to development of specialised pilots attending specific areas of pilotage. Though there is no clear cut division on the types of marine pilots, but depending upon their working area, there are some types developed in moder era. These types include following self-explanatory terms Canal pilotage River pilotage Deep Sea Pilotage Offshore Pilotage Harbour and Dock Pilotage Special operations Pilotage With the increase in number of accidents and heavy loss to port infrastructure, now a days there is increasing technology interface while ship handling by pilots. But a word of caution to the administrators — gadgets so developed don’t carry out manoeuvres; they only provide information to pilots who actually carry out manoeuvring of ships. And pilots carry out manoeuvres by their reflexes! So there is @ need to strengthen their reflexes by periodical trainings as well as technical analyses of successful manoeuvres ‘Trying to replace the human sense of reflexes in pilots with information from gadgets will not prevent accidents, But the strengthening of reflexes through technical analyses does. Essential Services provided to World Trade and Economy Given the dependence of the world trade and economy on the shipping and carriage of goods by water transport, the role of pilots has been very crucial in keeping the world trade up and running on its toes. Pilots provide one cssential link of the long supply chain of manufacturing the goods at the factories in one country to the delivery of the goods at the door steps of the consumer sitting another country, From ships arriving to unload at the ports to trucks delivering much needed food and goods to the people is an unbroken supply chain, Moreover the world economy has been dependant on the export and import of goods like never before. The growth of the economies around the world is basically by the demands created at home and foreign lands. This demand in foreign lands is met by the shipping services. As ships carry cargo and reach foreign land after traversing thousands of miles on the sea. The last leg of the sea voyages i.e. the entry of the ships into harbours for loading or discharging the goods to port facilities cannot be completed without the help of pilots. Looking at the services provided by the marine pilots to the ports and harbours, the national governments have declared the port and pilotage services as essential services. Without the completed jobs of pilots, the essential goods and services would not be able to reach the door steps of the consumers. The physical and economic realities of today’s shipping industry make pilots more important than ever for the delicate task of manoeuvring huge ships into and out of port In the wake of the COVID'19 pandemic scenario when the governments closed down non-essential services around the country in early 2020, many governments reassessed the role of the ports and recognised the ports and their personnel as essential services. As the necessary safety measures ramped up around the nation, their essential services keep country running with medical staff, emergency services. The consideration of how critical supply chain staff are able to travel to and from their job and perform their regular duties in a way that is safe and hygienic but not disruptive to the provision of supplying the nation, is of the utmost importance.The outbreak of the COVID'19 bared many of the weaknesses the present economic structures and people dependant on the globalised economy. When ships were coming from China in the month of January and February 2020, the pilots felt the heat of compulsorily going on board the vessels to provide their services even when major people of the world did not know anything about the COVID’19, Due to the threat of infection when pilots started refusing or emphasised on deliberate checking procedures, there was a hue and cry in the administration of the ports. The little delays in the berthing of the vessels made them understand what the importance of marine pilots is. Along with seafarers, the pilots are all declared as frontline workers in the fight against the pandemic. Ports also provide jobs to millions of people directly or indirectly in all types of economies. There are many countries like Singapore where the mainstay of the economy is providing services to shipping and marine industry, Without the services of pilots the ports simply cannot run and there are no alternatives for the pilotage services. Thus the pilotage services contribute significantly to millions of the users to their direct or indirect source of income. Ports maintains that its supply chains are critical to ensure fuel, food and other much needed essential ‘commodities in the hinterlands of any nation, making it imperative that ports stay open and their personnel allowed to keep working. Changing role of Pilots in Marine Safety and Accident Prevention Marine pilotage plays a vital role in marine safety and accident prevention and consequently in protection of the marine environment. Marine pilots work manoeuvres the ships in the areas generally hazardous, treacherous and filled with extreme challenges. The pressure is too high with almost no margins of tolerance. Any small error on the patt of the pilots would lead to serious consequences to the vessels, the port, the coastal state, the communities near the port and the port itself. The stakes are too high. But the marine pilots are the best persons to manage and take care of the situations given the training and prior marine experience. Marine pilots save many accidents that they do. Without the services by the pilots, the number of accidents and disasters would have been so large that shipping could not continue in its present easiness and economies of scale, Besides the basic duties of advisory role of the any marine pilot to the master of the vessel related to safe navigation and safe manoeuvring of the vessel from pilot station to the berth, every pilot has a paramount duty towards the safety, security and protection of environment as well as obligation to national and international requirements. Thus the pilot has following paramount duties all the time when on duty: * Pilot must commit to safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, safety of the port infrastructure and prevention of pollution at all times. ‘+ Pilot should report to the appropriate authority anything observed which may affect safety of navigation or pollution prevention, including any incident that may have occurred to the piloted ship. * Pilot may refuse pilotage when the ship to be piloted is believed to pose a danger to the safety of navigation or to the environment. ‘+ Any refusal of pilot, together with the reason, should immediately be reported to the appropriate authority for further action. ‘+ The pilot should assist interested parties such as port authorities, national authorities and flag administrations in reporting and investigating incidents involving ships whilst under pilotage, subject to the laws and regulations of the relevant authorities. ‘* Pilots should meet or exceed the requirements set down in IMO Assembly Resolution A.485(XII) and its The steadily expanding tonnage of merchant vessels that is making pilots’ jobs trickier and more crucial than ever. There is a quantum shift in expansion of tonnage and the size of ships in decades after decades. The size of the new container and bulk carriers has already put strains on the dimensions of even the largest ports and canals,developed 30 years before. We have mega vessels now plying in the world’s oceans. Pilots are called upon to deal with greatly reduced tuning basin clearance, very little under keel clearances. Thus the pilots have to be better and sharper than they used to be. Pilotage is a dynamic business. The pilot plans the passage after a master-pilot exchange. In pilotage, certain things may be planned based on tide, wind and so on but cannot plan passing traffic to the nearest second, But it’s enormously satisfying for pilots; you can have all sorts of protocols, but at the end of the day he has to deliver the ship safely to the berth or take it out to sea. A pilot’s primary duty is to use his skill and knowledge to protect ships from collision or grounding by safely conducting their navigation and manoeuvring whilst in pilotage waters. Nonetheless, the master and bridge team are always responsible for the safe navigation ofthe ship. The fact as acknowledged at IMO - declining standards of manpower on ships poses further challenges to the pilots. The role of the pilots with experience and local know-how has been more important than before as seafaring standards are slipping and existing crews are becoming more exhausted due to the skills and labour shortages. Marine Pilotage is a tough job — there is no illusion about it. It is made further difficult by the prevailing labour conditions in the industry. Crewing levels and skills shortages represent an industry-wide labour issue that might only be resolved with long-term reform and a shift in the economies of shipping. It requires pilots to board unfamiliar vessels while they're still in motion, quickly take stock of the situation and start making decisions almost immediately. ‘There are personal characteristics like good communication and calmness are highly required. The ability to think on one’s feet is also a must. Travel of pilots from the shore to an incoming ship or from the outgoing vessel back to shore is carvied out by a pilot boat and hence by climbing a simple pilot ladder, occasionally done by helicopter. It’s @ hazardous endeavour even on good weather conditions, Pilots regularly tell that it’s the unpredictability of the job, the fact that you'll never know what might happen on any given day that provides one of its biggest thrills. When it comes to the best route into the pilotage profession, there is no substitute for hard-earned experience. Master’s experience and certification is the ultimate standard for ‘making the transition into pilotage. see