A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a

mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor' ...

who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

s or

river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carryin ...

s. Maritime pilots know local details such as depth, currents, and hazards. They board and temporarily join the crew to safely guide the ship's passage, so they must also have expertise in handling ships of all types and sizes. Obtaining the title "maritime pilot" requires being licensed or authorised by a recognised pilotage authority.

History

The word ''pilot'' is believed to have come from the

Middle French Middle French () is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other co ...

, ''pilot'', ''pillot'', from Italian, ''pilota'', from

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

, ''pillottus''; ultimately from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pēdón, "blade of an oar, oar"). The work functions of the pilot can be traced back to

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, when locally experienced

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

captains, mainly local

fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

, were employed by incoming ships' captains to bring their trading vessels into port safely.Cunliffe, Tom, Pilots: Pilot, The World Of Pilotage Under Sail and Oar
Wooden Boat Publications. Brooklin, Maine. 2001 The

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

was made to quickly reach incoming ships from port. Harbor masters began to require licensing and insured pilots and placed regulations on incoming ships to bring pilots aboard. Inland brown water trade also relies on the work of pilots known as trip pilots. Due to the shortage of qualified posted masters, these independent contractors fill the holes in the manning schedule on inland push boats on various inland river routes. A Sandy Hook pilot is a licensed maritime pilot for the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Hudson River, and Long Island Sound. Sandy Hook pilots have been piloting ships in the New York Harbor for over 300 years. The pilots of New York and Boston first served on

Square rig Square rig is a generic type of sail plan, sail and rigging arrangement in which a sailing ship, sailing vessel's primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spar (sailing), spars that are perpendicular (or wikt:square#Adjective, square) to t ...

s before entering the pilot service as boat keepers, later receiving their warrants as pilots, then their full commissions as branch pilots authorized to pilot vessels of any draught size.

Duties involved

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

, by section 742 of the

Merchant Shipping Act 1894 The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 ( 57 & 58 Vict. c. 60) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated enactments relating to merchant shipping in the United Kingdom. Background In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliamen ...

( 57 & 58 Vict. c. 60), a pilot is defined as "any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof"—someone other than a member of the crew who has control over the speed, direction, and movement of the ship. The

Pilotage Act 1987 The Pilotage Act 1987 (c. 21) is a UK act of Parliament that governs the operation of maritime pilotage. The act repealed the previous pilotage legislation in its entirety, the Pilotage Act 1983 (c. 21), which itself had repealed the Pilotag ...

governs the management of maritime pilots and pilotage in harbors in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Pilots are required to have maritime experience prior to becoming a pilot, including local knowledge of the area. For example, the

California Board of Pilot Commissioners Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun is the California state agency responsible for licensing and regulating pilots within one of the largest harbors in the world and the tributary Sacramento River d ...

requires that pilot trainees have a master's license, two years' command experience on tugs or deep draft vessels, and pass a written exam and simulator exercise, followed by a period of up to three years' training, gaining experience with different types of vessel and docking facilities. Following licensing, pilots are required to engage in continuing educational programs. Typically, the pilot joins an incoming ship prior to the ship's entry into the shallow water at the designated "pilot boarding area" via

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

and climbs a

pilot ladder A pilot ladder is a highly specialized form of Ladder#Flexible ladders, rope ladder, typically used on board cargo ship, cargo vessels for the purposes of embarking and disembarking maritime pilot, pilots. The design and construction of the ladder ...

, sometimes up to , to the deck of the largest

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

and tanker ships. Before climbing the pilot ladder, the pilot performs a visual inspection of the boarding arrangement to confirm it is safe to use and in accordance with international requirements. As both the ship to be piloted and the pilot's own vessel are usually moving this may be dangerous, especially in rough seas. With outgoing vessels, a pilot boat returns the pilot to land after the ship has successfully negotiated coastal waters. Pilots are required by law in most major sea ports of the world for large ships. Pilots use pilotage techniques that rely on nearby visual reference points and local knowledge of

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s, swells,

currents Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hy ...

, depths and

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

s that might not be readily identifiable on

nautical chart A nautical chart or hydrographic chart is a graphic representation of a sea region or water body and adjacent coasts or river bank, banks. Depending on the scale (map), scale of the chart, it may show depths of water (bathymetry) and heights of ...

s without firsthand experience in certain waters. Pilot Boat L 238

Legally, the master has full responsibility for the safe navigation of their vessel, even when a pilot is on board. If they have clear grounds that the pilot may jeopardize the safety of navigation, they can relieve the pilot from their duties and ask for another pilot, or, if not required to have a pilot on board, navigate the vessel without one. In every case, during the time passed aboard for operation, the pilot will remain under the master's authority, and always out of the "ship's command chain." The pilot remains aboard as an important and indispensable part of the bridge team. Only in transit of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

does the pilot have full responsibility for the navigation of the vessel. In some countries, deck officers of vessels who have strong local knowledge and experience of navigating in those ports, such as a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

or regular trader, may be issued with a pilotage exemption certificate, which relieves them of the need to take a pilot on board.

Remote pilotage

In 2024, Denmark launched a pioneering initiative to explore the use of remote pilotage, marking a global first in the maritime industry. The program, overseen by national pilotage authority DanPilot in cooperation with maritime technology provider Danelec, allows pilots to guide vessels from a shore-based control center using real-time data. The system transmits navigational information, radar feeds and sensor data from the vessel to a remote operations hub, enabling pilots to perform their duties without physically boarding the ship. This setup is currently being tested in the Western Baltic Sea, an area known for its traffic complexity and narrow transit routes. The objective is to assess whether remote pilotage can offer a safe and effective alternative in specific scenarios, such as short transits or adverse weather, while maintaining the high safety standards required in traditional pilotage. The project has attracted international attention as a potential advancement in port efficiency, environmental sustainability, and pilot safety.

Compensation

The Florida Alliance of Maritime Organizations reported that Florida pilots' annual salaries range from US$100,000 to US$400,000, on par with other US states that have large ports. Columbia Bar pilots earn approximately US$180,000 per year. A 2008 review of pilot salaries in the United States showed that pay ranged from about US$250,000 to over US$500,000 per year. The Sandy Hook Pilots Association in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, New York, has 50 employees across its locations and generates $7.15 million in sales (USD). Pilot compensation has been controversial in many ports, including the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, especially in regard to pilots who are employed by public agencies instead of acting as independent contractors. Los Angeles pilots get $374,000 a year.History of Loodswezen
about organized marine pilots in the Netherlands. Visited 3 April 2013. Compensation varies in other nations. In New Zealand, according to the government career service, pilots earn NZ$90,000-120,000.

Gallery

File:ICS Hotel.svg,

Signal flag Flag signals can mean any of various methods of using flags or pennants to send signals. Flags may have individual significance as signals, or two or more flags may be manipulated so that their relative positions convey symbols. Flag signals allo ...

H (Hotel) is used to signal "

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

on board" File:ICS Golf.svg, Signal flag G (Golf) is used to signal "I require a pilot"

References

Notes

IMO.org/pilotage

Bibliography

* *Harry Hignett, ''21 Centuries of Marine Pilotage''. London, March 2013. *

External links

International Maritime Pilots Association

List of Maritime Pilots Organisations worldwide

American Pilots Association

Pilot's Duties

SAFETY4SEA – Denmark launches world’s first test program for remote pilotage

Baird Maritime – Denmark tests remote pilotage in Western Baltic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maritime Pilot Nautical terminology Navigation Marine occupations