Opinion

Pilots are not Advisors to Masters


by Karolina Cirjak, Consultant Master Mariner at KC Maritime Consultancy Ltd. - published on 30 November 2024 10693 -

This opinion article was first published back in February 2022

According to the International Group of P & I Clubs’ “Report on P&I claims involving vessels under pilotage 1999-2019”, over the last twenty years, there were 1,046 incidents in which pilot error either caused or contributed to those events. The resulting liabilities were in excess of US$1.82 billion, with the average value per incident of approximately US$1.74 million. The Report considered incidents such as Allision/Contact with Fixed or Floating Objects (constituting 60% of the total number), Collision, Grounding and Navigation, including incidents caused by the wash of a vessel.

The report stated that since “the pilot has the conduct of the navigation and the shipowner remains vicariously responsible for liabilities arising from the pilots’ acts or negligence… whenever incidents occur that result in substantial P&I liabilities … the question arises of whether there is any liability on the part of the pilot or the relevant pilotage body, and whether insurance coverage for such liability exists. … even where recourse is possible, the potential levels of financial liability are often low and such liability may not be covered by insurance. … therefore … widespread legislative change and associated insurance regimes is considered unrealistic… “

Liability on the part of Shipowners and Pilots calls for just a brief look into the history of law regulating compulsory Pilotage.

Over centuries, Pilots were held liable for damage caused to other ships or objects during compulsory pilotage, while Shipowners and Masters had absolute freedom from claims.

Not to go too far back in time, the last body of law relieving Shipowners and Masters of a piloted vessel from any liability for damage caused by Pilots was the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, stating: “An owner or master of a ship shall not be answerable to any person whatever for any loss or damage occasioned by the fault or incapacity of any qualified pilot acting in charge of that ship within any district where the employment of a qualified pilot is compulsory by law”.

The obvious issue was the insufficient financial capability of compensation for damages on the part of the Pilot.

The scales tipped in Pilots’ favour in the early 20th century. The UK Pilotage Act, bringing major change and shift of liability was enacted in 1913. Article 15 states: “… the owner or master of a vessel navigating under circumstances in which pilotage is compulsory shall be answerable for any loss or damage caused by the vessel or by any fault of the navigation of the vessel in the same manner as he would if pilotage were not compulsory”.

With slightly different wording, this particular rule remained the same in the current 1987 Pilotage Act imposing liability for accidents during compulsory pilotage onto Shipowners and Masters.

The Act allows for compulsory Pilots to be held liable, but their liability is limited to a symbolic amount of £1,000 in the UK and a similar amount in other jurisdictions. As a result, Shipowners became the primary source of compensation for damages through their P & I Clubs.

In much of the rest of the world, Port States took it one step further and, while imposing compulsory pilotage and authorising Pilots to take control of the navigation of ships plying their ports to secure the safety of both ships and ports, define Pilots as mere ‘advisors’ to Masters, thus effectively exempting Pilots from any liability arising out of their acts or omissions, also imposing responsibility onto Masters for any loss or damage caused by the ship regardless of the fact that the ship was under compulsory pilotage.

Pilots' responsible task of bringing ships in and out of ports safely could hardly be achieved if they were only advisors to Masters.

Advice has no elements of compulsion. Advice can be accepted or rejected. If Pilots were advisors, then Masters would be in charge of manoeuvring the vessel, with their own choice of courses to steer and speed to maintain including control of tug boats.

Of course, in practice, this is not the case. Pilots are tasked with control of navigation as experts on local conditions and on manoeuvring which they perform day in and day out in the same port or other compulsory pilotage area assigned to them.

On the other hand, Masters are not experts on manoeuvring due to the simple fact that they have limited opportunity to manoeuvre and in the case of very large ships with single propeller they cannot manoeuvre at very slow speeds in confined waters without the use of tugboats.

And yet, Masters are expected to override Pilots’ orders and intervene when Pilots’ actions appear inadequate and pose risk to the safety of the ship. The problem here is that the Master’s perception of risk does not have to coincide with the much more experienced Pilot’s perception, in which case the Master’s intervention could make the situation worse.

And when a manoeuvre appears to go wrong or indeed goes wrong and requires intervention, it is right next to impossible to correct it. This is especially true when tugboats are in use, over which Masters have no control.

As a result, the person in the spotlight of accidents that occur under compulsory pilotage is the Master of the ship.

In the aftermath of an accident, it is not only about the Master’s loss of reputation, or loss of employment and employment prospects. What gets largely ignored is the psychological impact of dealing with blame for being incompetent or negligent, even though the control of navigation belonged to the Pilot.

The only bright exception to the rule of considering Pilots as advisors to Masters is the Panama Canal where Pilots take absolute control of navigation through the Canal and are liable in case of an accident.

Regulations on Navigation in Panama Canal Waters, Chapter V, Article 92 states: “The pilot assigned to a vessel shall have control of the navigation and movement of such a vessel.

This simple, unambiguous rule is supported by the Panama Canal Authority accepting to “pay indemnity for damages … if the damage was caused through fault or negligence on the part of the Authority or its workers in the performance and within the scope of their duties...”

The convoluted Master / Pilot relationship has been the subject of much debate and much has been written on the topic.

While the industry concentrates on improving the interaction between Masters and Pilots, Capt. George Quick gives a concise and to the point explanation of the issue in his brilliant article “Master /Pilot relationship; the role of the pilot in risk management”, where Capt. Quick states that the starting point in solving the issue is understanding the role of the Pilot. And the role is certainly not advisory.

If the industry considers it unrealistic to change compulsory pilotage legislation, then at least the impossible expectations and the terrible burden of blame should be removed from Masters’ shoulders by “widening the circle of responsibility to include pilots, port authorities, terminal operators, VTS operations, channel maintenance and navigation aids, and all the various regulatory agencies in the circle of blame after a casualty”, as Capt. Quick rightfully points out.

Accidents under compulsory pilotage are not the only issue that seafarers have to deal with, but, on a positive note, there are still men and women willing to go to sea and take command although “the traditional privilege and honour associated with command appears instead to have become a risky and perilous burden” due to an ever-increasing range of responsibilities, but incommensurate legal rights.

 

International Group of P&I Clubs: Report on P&I claims involving vessels under pilotage 1999-2019

Capt. George Quick: Master/Pilot relationship; the role of the pilot in risk management

The Standard Club: Pilotage bulletin

Editor's note:
Opinion pieces reflect the personal opinion of individual authors. They do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about a prevailing opinion in the respective editorial department. Opinion pieces might be deliberately formulated in a pronounced or even explicit tone and may contain biased arguments. They might be intended to polarise and stimulate discussion. In this, they deliberately differ from the factual articles you typically find on this platform, written to present facts and opinions in as balanced a manner as possible.

Join the conversation...

Login or register to write comments and join the discussion!
JL
Jack Long life sailor Belgium
on 18 December 2023, 08:14 UTC

What a load of nonsense, first of al pilots are working as a business so they try to make as much money as possible and are very good at it due to the rules they can enforce as so called experts. Heaps of examples can be made, fi why isnt there any healthy competition and only one pilot organisation is a port or ports, why do they inforce the craziest rules for even smaller vessels. Then take a look at the pilot costs hiw can you justitfy jumping on board having coffee and 15 min later leaving the vessel with having a nothing done and asking more then 1500 euro. Pilots forget crews do everything to get the vessel fast in and out of a port the number of near misses caused by pilots under my command has been crazy. We as crew just play a game to get just to get the pilots not sending psc to the vessel, which happens if you doubt there so called competence. Pilots should be held responsible and fix every paint scratch they cause before the vessel leaves port, if pilots are really as good as they say then the insurance costs for them would be very low.
1

Captain Rahayuddin Arifin Indonesian Maritime Pilots Association - INAMPA, Indonesia
on 4 November 2022, 03:17 UTC

It’s there a true in the fact, I thinks the all party’s must be take responsibility to avoid any incident and if incident rising then every party’s must be conduct to investigated so the justice would be on top...
1

Captain Rahayuddin Arifin Indonesian Maritime Pilots Association - INAMPA, Indonesia
on 4 November 2022, 03:17 UTC

It’s there a true in the fact, I thinks the all party’s must be take responsibility to avoid any incident and if incident rising then every party’s must be conduct to investigated so the justice would be on top...
1

SS
Sven Stemmler Hafenlotsen Hamburg, Germany
on 24 February 2022, 15:57 UTC

Liability without insurance may ruin the life of families! Will the damage done change, when the liability changes? It's always good to improve the maritime resourses. A good understanding and cooperation between master and pilot is essential. The question of insurance is as well a question of pilotage costs. Insurance cost might be paid by shipping companies, authorities, worldwide groups of pilot associations or taxpayers. In the end the cost will be paid by someone. The system of insurance will change, when system of liability changes. Which system is the best to reduce accidents?
3

RC
Ricardo Caballero Vega Panama Canal Pilots Association, Panama
on 22 February 2022, 10:34 UTC

1.82 B in liability seems like a estratoferic amount of money. And it probably is. But if you look at both, the large time span (1999-2019) and the fact that ships have grown exponentially in size (and also disproportianally in relation to port facilities and waterways), and then add that "commercial pressure is at the back of the head of everybody in the industry then the figures aren't as bad as they seem to be.
No pilot organization by its own would be capable of having enough insurance to cover ships accidents. All that can be done is keep up with constant training and designed a legal frame (where there is none) so shipping companies can be confident of pilot's competences.
4

HB
Howard Bryant United Kingdom
on 22 February 2022, 09:28 UTC

A good reply well done.
In the UK, a pilot will have conduct of the ship if pilotage is compulsory and the master may only intervene if he decides the "pilot is manifestly incompetent or drunk" The law may not be perfect but that is the law in UK. As an ex pilot I would be in favour of pilots taking responsibility for their actions and being liable for damage but it would require insurance on the part of the pilot and would be prohibitively expensive.I cetainly believe VTS must accept some responsibility and liability too if only to stop ambitious interference in the pilotage of ships . This does happen unfortunately.
5

Read more...

Video Kittiwake Mersey Pilot

published on 22 December 2021

KITTIWAKE ( MMSI 232008570) is a Pilot and currently sailing under the flag of United Kingdom (UK) Here she is speeding down the River this morning.

0

Video Polaris Pilot Boat Antwerp Belgium

published on 15 March 2022

Vessel name: Polaris ; Year built: 2012 ; Flag: Netherlands ; Homeport: Rotterdam Length: 81.2m X 13.3m ; GRT: 2501 ; Callsign: PBZN ; MMSI:245142000 ; IMO: 9496915 Type: Special Vessel / Pilot Ship A "Pilot Ship / Pilot Vessel" is a "special type" of ship in which it accommodates a certain and limited Marine Pilots (Sea, River, Harbor Pilots), it also carries small boats/crafts that are used to tender services to and from the Pilot ship. In a Pilot Vessel, the Pilots can take their time...

1

Video Pilot Leaving Ship Vigo

published on 31 March 2023

0

Opinion What you can´t see still hurt you

published on 13 December 2020

This article was originally published on Baird Maritime (link below)
When a pilot is berthing a ship with the aid of tugs, it sometimes happens that the ship lands heavily and suffers minor damage. More commonly in my experience, it also happens that the crew discover a large dent for which they cannot account ...

0

Video Japan Federation of Pilots' Associations (partly animated)

published on 23 June 2021

This is a video designed to educate people about pilots and their work. It consists of an animated version and a live action version.

5

Video Should the Captain go down with the sinking ship?

published on 9 November 2020

1:19 What is the history? 2:14 If we fast forward to the modern era, what has changed? 3:00 How have things impacted the modern Captain? 3:33 What are the typical laws on the subject in some countries? 4:05 How is it different from other leadership positions? 5:34 What needs to change? Blog - https://www.melvinmathews.com/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/melvin-mathews/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/melvinsmathews Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/melvin.mathews.37 Instagram - https:...

1

Video APL Belgium rolling near the Farallon Islands pilot station

published on 4 February 2024

APL Belgium in rough water near the Farallon Islands pilot station.

1

Video Captain Matt Glass - Houston Pilot (2012)

published on 22 December 2021

Captain Matt Glass, a deputy pilot with the Houston Pilots, boards and guides the UAL Capetown on the Houston Ship Channel from the landing area outside Galveston Bay to the Manchester docks in Houston, a voyage of about 7 hours.

0

Article China: Accident caused by mass pilots quarantines

by www.MaritimeBulletin.net - published on 13 January 2022

According to Captain’s visual observance and overheard radio talks, bulk carrier OLIVE BAY anchor chain entangled with the chain of another ship, on Jan 8 or 9, in Yangtze estuary between Chongming island and Taicang, Shanghai area.

0