Obligations with respect to pilotage

The Master's Legal Position in Pilotage

Pilotage sits at a specific intersection of statutory obligation and personal command responsibility. An examiner will probe whether a candidate understands that the pilot does not take command — the Master retains it.

Compulsory vs Voluntary Pilotage

Compulsory pilotage means the law (the Pilotage Act 1987, for UK ports) requires a licensed pilot to be employed for certain ships in defined compulsory pilotage districts. The ship must take the pilot; failure to do so exposes the owner and Master to liability.

Voluntary pilotage means the Master chooses to engage a pilot — no statutory obligation exists — but the engagement is still governed by the same rules of responsibility once the pilot boards.

The critical distinction an examiner tests: compulsory or voluntary, the Master's responsibility is identical. The pilot is the servant of the shipowner, not an agent of the harbour authority. The Master is never relieved of command.

Pilotage Exemption Certificates (PECs)

Under the Pilotage Act 1987, a PEC allows a Master or First Mate who knows a compulsory pilotage district sufficiently well to navigate without an external pilot. The PEC is:

• Issued by the Competent Harbour Authority (CHA) for that district
• Vessel-specific and district-specific
• Subject to renewal/examination requirements set by each CHA

A PEC holder navigates in full command, exactly as without a pilot — there is no divided responsibility question.

Command Responsibility with a Pilot on Board

This is the examiner's core target. Once a pilot boards:

• The Master remains in command of the vessel at all times
• The pilot navigates and advises; orders pass to the bridge team through (or with the knowledge of) the Master
• The Master has both the right and the duty to override a pilot giving instructions that would endanger the vessel
• Overriding or dismissing a pilot in a compulsory district may expose the owner to financial liability, but it does not alter the Master's duty to protect life and the ship
• The Master must establish a clear working relationship with the pilot via the Pilot Card and a face-to-face exchange at embarkation — manoeuvring characteristics, UKC, any limitations

Master/Pilot Exchange and Ongoing Monitoring

Best practice (and expected command standard) requires the Master to:

1. Complete the Pilot Card handover before the vessel moves
2. Monitor all helm and engine orders
3. Maintain situational awareness independently of the pilot's plot
4. Be prepared to intervene; brief the OOW similarly

The Master who says "the pilot had the con" is not absented from liability — that answer will fail the oral exam.