Adopted 5 December
2003
(Agenda item 17)
RECOMMENDATIONS ON
TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION ON
OPERATIONAL
PROCEDURES FOR MARITIME PILOTS
OTHER THAN DEEP-SEA
PILOTS
THE ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly in
relation to regulations and guidelines concerning maritime safety
and the prevention and control of marine pollution from ships,
RECOGNIZING that maritime pilots play an important role in promoting
maritime safety and protecting the marine environment,
BELIEVING that maintaining a proper working relationship between the
pilot, the master and, as appropriate, the officer in charge of a
navigational watch is important in ensuring the safety of shipping,
NOTING that, since each pilotage area needs highly specialized
experience and local knowledge on the part of the pilot, IMO does
not intend to become involved with either the certification or the
licensing of pilots or with the systems of pilotage practised in
various States,
RECOGNIZING ALSO the high standards of pilotage services already
established in many States and the need for these standards to be
maintained,
CONSIDERING that in those States that are developing pilotage
services, the establishment of practical minimum training standards,
certification requirements and operational procedures to provide
effective co-ordination between pilots and ship personnel, taking
due account of ship bridge procedures and ship equipment, would
contribute to maritime safety,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Maritime Safety
Committee at its seventy-fifth session,
1. ADOPTS:
(a) the Recommendation on Training and Certification of
Maritime Pilots other than Deep-sea Pilots set out in Annex 1 to the
present resolution;
(b) the Recommendation on Operational Procedures for Maritime
Pilots other than Deep-sea Pilots set out in Annex 2 to the present
resolution;
2. URGES Governments to give effect to these Recommendations
as soon as possible;
3. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee to keep the
Recommendations under review and to amend them as necessary in the
light of experience gained from their implementation;
4. REVOKES resolution A.485(XII).
ANNEX 1
RECOMMENDATION ON
TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION OF MARITIME
PILOTS OTHER THAN
DEEP-SEA PILOTS
1 Scope
1.1 It is recognised that pilotage requires specialised
knowledge and experience of a specific area and that States with
many diverse waterways and ports have found it appropriate to
administer pilotage on a regional or local basis.
1.2 The maritime pilots referred to in this Recommendation do
not include deep-sea pilots or shipmasters or crew who are
certificated or licensed to carry out pilotage duties in particular
areas.
1.3 Governments should encourage the establishment or
maintenance of competent pilotage authorities to administer safe and
efficient pilotage systems.
2 Competent pilotage
authority
2.1 Competent pilotage authority means either the national or
regional Governments or local groups or organizations that by law or
tradition, administer or provide a pilotage system. Governments
should inform competent pilotage authorities of the provisions of
this document and encourage their implementation.
2.2 The assessment of the experience, qualifications and
suitability of an applicant for certification or licensing, as a
pilot, is the responsibility of each competent pilotage authority.
2.3 The competent pilotage authority in co-operation with the
national and local pilots’ associations should:
.1 establish the entry requirements and develop the standards
for obtaining a certificate or licence in order to perform pilotage
services within the area under its jurisdiction;
.2 enforce the maintenance of developed standards;
.3 specify whatever prerequisites, experience or examinations
are necessary to ensure that applicants for certification or
licensing as pilots are properly trained and qualified; and
.4 arrange that reports on investigations of incidents
involving pilotage are taken into account in maritime pilots’
training programmes.
3 Pilotage
certificate or licence
Every pilot should hold an appropriate pilotage certificate or
licence issued by the competent pilotage authority. In addition to
stating the pilotage area for which it is issued, the certificate or
licence should also state any requirements or local limitations that
the competent pilotage authority may specify such as maximum size,
draught or tonnage of vessels that the holder is qualified to pilot.
4 Medical
fitness
4.1 Each pilot should satisfy the competent pilotage authority
that his or her medical fitness, particularly regarding eyesight,
hearing and physical fitness meets the standards required for
certification of masters and officers in charge of a navigational
watch under the international Convention on Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended, or
such other standards as the competent pilotage authority considers
appropriate.
4.2 If a pilot has experienced a serious injury or illness,
there should be a re-evaluation of his or her medical fitness prior
to return to duty.
5 Training and
certification or licensing standards
5.1 The competent pilotage authority is responsible for
training and certification or licensing standards. The standards
should be sufficient to enable pilots to carry out their duties
safely and efficiently.
5.2 Standards for initial training should be designed to
develop in the trainee pilot the skills and knowledge determined by
the competent pilotage authority to be necessary for obtaining a
pilot certificate or license. The training should include practical
experience gained under the close supervision of experienced pilots.
This practical experience gained on vessels under actual piloting
conditions may be supplemented by simulation, both computer and
manned model, classroom instruction, or other training methods.
5.3 Every pilot should be trained in bridge resource
management with an emphasis on the exchange of information that is
essential to a safe transit. This training should include a
requirement for the pilot to assess particular situations and to
conduct an exchange of information with the master and/or officer in
charge of navigational watch. Maintaining an effective working
relationship between the pilot and the bridge team in both routine
and emergency conditions should be covered in training. Emergency
conditions should include loss of steering, loss of propulsion, and
failures of radar, vital systems and automation, in a narrow channel
or fairway.
5.4 Initial and continuing training in the master-pilot
information exchange should also cover:
.1 regulatory requirements governing the exchange;
.2 recognition of language, cultural, psychological and
physiological impediments to effective communication and interaction
and techniques for overcoming these impediments; and
.3 best practices in the specific pilotage area.
5.5 Competent pilotage authorities should be encouraged to
provide updating and refresher training conducted for certified or
licensed pilots to ensure the continuation of their proficiency and
updating of their knowledge, and could include the following;
.1 courses to improve proficiency in the English language
where necessary;
.2 sessions to enhance the ability to communicate with local
authorities and other vessels in the area;
.3 meetings with local authorities and other responsible
agencies to envisage emergency situations and contingency plans;
.4 refresher or renewal courses in bridge resource management
for pilots to facilitate communication and information exchange
between the pilot and the master and to increase efficiency on the
bridge.
.5 simulation exercises, which may include radar training and
emergency shiphandling procedures;
.6 courses in shiphandling
training centres using manned models;
.7 seminars on new bridge equipment with special regard to
navigation aids;
.8 sessions to discuss relevant issues connected with the
pilotage service including laws, rules and regulations particular to
the pilotage area;
.9 personal safety training;
.10 techniques for personal survival at sea; and
.11 emergency first aid, including cardio-pulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) and hypothermia remediation.
6 Continued
proficiency
6.1 In order to ensure the continued proficiency of pilots and
updating of their knowledge, the competent pilotage authority should
satisfy itself, at regular intervals not exceeding five years, that
all pilots under its jurisdiction:
.1 continue to possess recent navigational knowledge of the
local area to which the certificate of licence applies;
.2 continue to meet the medical fitness standards of paragraph
4 above; and
.3 possess knowledge of the current international, national and
local laws, regulations and other requirements and
provisions relevant to the pilotage area and the pilots’ duties.
6.2 Possession of knowledge required by subparagraphs 6.1.1
and 6.1.3 may be proved by an appropriate method such as personal
service records, completion of continuing professional development
courses or by an examination.
6.3 Where a pilot in cases of absence from duty, for whatever
reason, is lacking recent experience in the pilotage area, the
competent pilotage authority should satisfy itself that the pilot
regains familiarity with the area on his or her return to duty.
7 Syllabus
for pilotage certification or licensing
7.1 In the syllabus, area means the waters for which the
applicant is to be certified or licensed. Each applicant for a pilot
certificate or license should demonstrate that he or she has
necessary knowledge of the following:
.1
limits of local pilotage areas;
.2 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972
as amended, and also such other national and local navigational
safety and pollution prevention rules as may apply in the area;
.3 system of buoyage in the area;
.4 characteristics of the lights and their angles of visibility and
the fog signals, racons and radio beacons and other electronic aids
in use in the area;
.5 names, positions and characteristics of the light vessels, buoys,
beacons, structures and other marks in the area;
.6 names and characteristics of the channels, shoals, headlands and
points in the area;
.7 bridge and similar obstruction limitations including air
draughts;
.8 depths of water throughout the area, including tidal effects and
similar factors;
.9 general set, rate, rise and duration of the tides and use of the
tide tables and real-time and current data systems, if available,
for the area;
.10 proper courses and distances in the area;
.11 anchorages in the area;
.12 shiphandling for piloting, anchoring, berthing and unberthing,
manoeuvring with and without tugs, and emergency situations;
.13 communications and availability of navigational information;
.14 systems of radio navigational warning broadcasts in the area and
the type of information likely to be included;
.15 traffic separation schemes, vessel traffic services and similar
vessel management systems in the area;
.16 bridge equipment and navigational aids;
.17 use of radar and other electronic devices; their limitations and
capabilities as navigation and collision avoidance aids;
.18 manoeuvring behaviour of the types of ships expected to be
piloted and the limitations imposed by particular propulsion and
steering systems;
.19 factors affecting ship performance such as wind, current, tide,
channel configuration, water depth, bottom, bank and ship
interaction including squat;
.20 use and limitation of various types of tugs;
.21 the English language to a standard adequate to enable the pilot
to express communications clearly;
.22 IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases;
.23 IMO Code for the investigation of marine casualties and
incidents;
.24 Master-Pilot Relationship, Pilot Card, operational procedures;
.25 pollution prevention;
.26 emergency and contingency plans for the area;
.27 safe embarking and disembarking procedures; and
.28 any other relevant knowledge considered necessary.
ANNEX 2
RECOMMENDATION ON
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES FOR MARITIME PILOTS
OTHER THAN DEEP-SEA
PILOTS
1 General
Efficient pilotage depends, among other things, upon the
effectiveness of the communications and information exchanges
between the pilot, the master and the bridge personnel and upon the
mutual understanding each has for the functions and duties of the
other.
Establishment of effective co-ordination between the pilot, the
master and the bridge personnel,taking due account of the ship’s
systems and equipment available to the pilot, will aid a safe
andexpeditious passage.
2 Duties of master,
bridge officers and pilot
2.1 Despite the duties and obligations of a pilot, the pilot’s
presence on board does not relieve the master or officer in charge
of the navigational watch from their duties and obligations for the
safety of the ship. It is important that, upon the pilot boarding
the ship and before the pilotage commences, the pilot, the master
and the bridge personnel are aware of their respective roles in the
safe passage of the ship.
2.2 The master, bridge officers and pilot share a responsibility for
good communications and understanding of each other’s role for the
safe conduct of the vessel in pilotage waters.
2.3 Masters and bridge officers have a duty to support the pilot and
to ensure that his/her actions are monitored at all times.
3 Pilot boarding
point
3.1 The appropriate competent pilotage authority*
should establish and
promulgate the location of safe pilot embarkation and disembarkation
points.
3.2 The pilot boarding point should be at a sufficient distance from
the commencement of the act of pilotage to allow safe boarding
conditions.
3.3 The pilot boarding point should also be situated at a place
allowing for sufficient time and sea room to meet the requirements
of the master-pilot information exchange (see paragraphs 5.1 to
5.6).
4 Procedures for
requesting pilot
4.1 The appropriate competent pilotage authority should establish,
promulgate and
maintain procedures for requesting a pilot for an inbound or
outbound ship, or for shifting a ship.
4.2 As human resources and technical means have to be planned well
in advance, the operation of an efficient pilotage service requires
information on the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) or Departure
(ETD) to be furnished by the ship as early as possible with frequent
updates where possible.
*
“Competent pilotage authority” has the same meaning as in annex 1.
4.3 Communication by VHF or other dedicated means should be
established as soon as possible to enable the master to confirm the
ship’s ETA and the Pilot Station to furnish relevant information
regarding pilot boarding.
4.4 The initial ETA message to the Pilot Station should include all
the information required by local regulations, including:
.1 ship’s name, call sign,
ship’s agent;
.2 ship’s characteristics:
length, beam, draught, air draught if relevant, speed, thruster(s);
.3 date and time expected at the
pilot boarding point;
.4 destination, berth (if
required, side alongside); and
.5 other relevant requirements
and information.
5 Master - pilot
information exchange
5.1 The master and the pilot should exchange
information regarding navigational procedures, local conditions and
rules and the ship’s characteristics. This information exchange
should be a continuous process that generally continues for the
duration of the pilotage.
5.2 Each pilotage assignment should begin with an
information exchange between the pilot and the master. The amount
and subject matter of the information to be exchanged should be
determined by the specific navigation demands of the pilotage
operation. Additional information can be exchanged as the operation
proceeds.
5.3 Each competent pilotage authority should
develop a standard exchange of information practice, taking into
account regulatory requirements and best practices in the pilotage
area. Pilots should consider using an information card, form,
checklist or other memory aid to ensure that essential exchange
items are covered. If an information card or standard form is used
by pilots locally regarding the anticipated passage, the layout of
such a card or form should be easy to understand. The card or form
should supplement and assist, not substitute for, the verbal
information exchange.
5.4 This exchange of information should include at
least:
.1 presentation of a completed standard
Pilot Card. In addition, information should be provided
on rate of turn at different speeds, turning circles, stopping
distances and, if available, other appropriate data;
.2 general agreement on plans and
procedures, including contingency plans, for the anticipated
passage;
.3 discussion of any special conditions such
as weather, depth of water, tidal currents and marine traffic that
may be expected during the passage;
.4 discussion of any unusual
ship-handling characteristics, machinery difficulties,
navigational equipment problems or crew limitations that could
affect the operation, handling or safe manoeuvring of the ship;
.5 information on berthing arrangements;
use, characteristics and number of tugs; mooring boats and other
external facilities;
.6 information on mooring arrangements; and
.7 confirmation of the language to be used
on the bridge and with external parties.
5.5 It should be clearly understood that any passage plan is a basic
indication of preferred intention and both the pilot and the master
should be prepared to depart from it when circumstances so dictate.
5.6 Pilots and competent pilotage authorities should be aware of the
voyage planning responsibilities of masters under applicable IMO
instruments*.
6 Communications
language
6.1 Pilots should be familiar with the IMO Standard Marine
Communication Phrases and use them in appropriate situations during
radio communications as well as during verbal exchanges on the
bridge. This will enable the master and officer in charge of the
navigational watch to better understand the communications and their
intent.
6.2 Communications on board between the pilot and bridge
watchkeeping personnel should be conducted in the English language
or in a language other than English that is common to all those
involved in the operation.
6.3 When a pilot is communicating to parties external to the ship,
such as vessel traffic services, tugs or linesmen and the pilot is
unable to communicate in the English language or a language that can
be understood on the bridge, the pilot should, as soon as
practicable, explain what was said to enable the bridge personnel to
monitor any subsequent actions taken by those external parties.
7 Reporting of
incidents and accidents
When performing pilotage duties, the pilot should report or cause to
be reported to the appropriate authority, anything observed that may
affect safety of navigation or pollution prevention. In particular,
the pilot should report, as soon as practicable, any accident that
may have occurred to the piloted ship and any irregularities with
navigational lights, shapes and signals.
*
Refer to
SOLAS regulation V/34 and resolution A.893(21) on Guidelines for
voyage planning and STCW Code, Section A-VIII/2, Part 2
8 Refusal of pilotage
services
The pilot should have the right to refuse pilotage when the ship to
be piloted poses a danger to the safety of navigation or to the
environment. Any such refusal, together with the reason,
should be immediately reported to the
appropriate authority for action as appropriate.
9 Fitness for duty
Pilots should be adequately rested and mentally alert in order to
provide undivided attention to pilotage duties for the duration of
the passage.
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