A
pilot is a mariner who guides
shipA ship is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public...
s through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. However, the pilot is only an advisor, as the master remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel.
Pilotage is one of the oldest, least-known professions, and yet it is one of the most important in maritime safety. The economic and environmental risk from today's large
cargo shipA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s makes the role of the pilot essential.
The origins of the word
pilot probably disseminates from the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
word
pilota, a variation of
pedota, the plural of
pēdón which translates as
oarAn oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. The oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. What distinguishes oars from paddles is that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...
.
A
pilot is a mariner who guides
shipA ship is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public...
s through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. However, the pilot is only an advisor, as the master remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel.
Pilotage is one of the oldest, least-known professions, and yet it is one of the most important in maritime safety. The economic and environmental risk from today's large
cargo shipA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s makes the role of the pilot essential.
History
The origins of the word
pilot probably disseminates from the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
word
pilota, a variation of
pedota, the plural of
pēdón which translates as
oarAn oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. The oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. What distinguishes oars from paddles is that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...
. There is also evidence the word
pylotte was also used, again a variation from
pedota. The word originated from around 1520-1530.
However, the work functions of the pilot go back to
Ancient GreeceAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
and
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times, when locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, were employed by incoming ships captains to safely bring into port their trading vessels. Eventually, in light of the need to regulate the act of pilotage and ensure pilots had adequate insurance, the harbours themselves licensed pilots for each harbour.
Although licensed by the harbour to operate within their jurisdiction, pilots were generally self-employed, meaning that they had to have quick transport to get them from the port to the incoming ships. As pilots were often still dual-employed, they hence used their own fishing boats to reach the incoming vessels. But fishing boats were heavy working boats, and filled with fishing equipment, and so hence a new type of boat was required.
Early boats were developed from single masted cutters and twin masted
yawlA yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mizzen mast well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom...
s, and latterly into the specialist pilot cutter. These were effectively light-weigh and over powered single masted boats with large steeply angled keels, making them deep
draftThe draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
under power and shallow draft in lighter sail.
If legend is to believed the first official
Bristol ChannelThe Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England, and extending from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
pilot was barge master George James Ray, appointed by the Corporation of Bristol in May 1497 to pilot
John CabotGiovanni Caboto known in English as John Cabot, was a Venetian navigator and explorer whose 1497 'discovery' of North America is commonly held to be the first European voyage to the continent since Norseman Leif Ericson's landing in c.1003. The Canadian and United Kingdom government's official...
's
MatthewThe Matthew was a caravel sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to North America, presumably Newfoundland. After a voyage which had got no further than Iceland, Cabot left again with only one vessel, the Matthew, a small ship , but fast and able. The crew consisted of only 18 people. The...
from
Bristol HarbourBristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It has existed since the 13th century but was developed into its current form in the early 19th century by installing lock gates on a tidal stretch of the River Avon in the centre of the city and...
to the open sea beyond the
Bristol ChannelThe Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England, and extending from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
. In 1837 Pilot George Ray guided
BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels...
's
SS Great WesternThe Great Western of 1838, was the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company and the first purpose-built Atlantic steamship. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Great Western proved satisfactory in service and was the model for all successful Atlantic wood paddlers. She was capable of...
, and in 1844 William Ray piloted the larger
SS Great BritainSS Great Britain was an advanced passenger steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York...
on her maiden voyage.
On June 20, 1885, Joseph Henderson was expressly selected to escort the French Steamer Isère, laden with the
Statue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty , officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World , dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship...
into the New York Harbor to Bedloe's Island. This event and Pilot Henderson's appearance was printed in the New York Times: "
Old Pilot Henderson, who jumped from the skylight down on the quarter deck of the Isère."
Duties involved
Their size and mass makes large ships very difficult to manoeuver; the stopping distance of a supertanker is typically measured in miles (kilometres) and even a slight error in judgment can cause
millionOne million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The name is derived from Italian, where mille was 1,000, and 1,000,000 became milione, "a large thousand"....
s of
dollarThe dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, including Australia, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States.-History:...
s in damage. For this reason, many years of experience in an operating area are required to qualify as a pilot.
By far the most challenging part of any ship's voyage is the passage through the narrow waterways that lead to
port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
and the final
dockA dock is a man-made feature involved in the handling of boats or ships. However the exact meaning varies between different variants of the English language.-History:...
ing of the ship. The pilot brings to the ship expertise in handling large vessels in confined waterways and expert local knowledge of the port. In addition to bringing local maritime expertise on board, the pilot also relieves the
captainThe Captain or Master of a merchant vessel is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. A Ship's Captain, also called Shipmaster or Skipper, is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel...
from the economic pressures that can compromise safety. Instead of being part of the ship's crew, pilots are employed locally and therefore act on behalf of the public rather than of the shipowners. However, the master of a ship that calls at only a few ports, such as a
ferryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, may be licensed as a pilot for those ports- such ships do not need to carry a pilot.
Normally the pilot joins an incoming ship at sea via helicopter or
pilot boatA Pilot Boat is a type of boat used to transport pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting.-History:The origins of the word pilot probably disseminates from the Latin word pilota, a variation of pedota, the plural of pēdón which translates as oar...
and climbs a swaying
Jacob's ladderThe term Jacob's ladder, used on a ship, applies to two kinds of ladder.The first is a flexible hanging ladder which can be lowered down the side of a large ship. It consists of vertical ropes or chains supporting horizontal wooden or metal rungs, and is used to allow people to board the ship from...
sometimes up 40 feet (~12 metres) to the
deckA deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
of the largest
containerContainer ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.- History :...
and
tankerA tank ship or tankship, often referred to as a tanker, is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
ships. With outgoing vessels, a pilot boat returns the pilot to land after the ship has successfully negotiated coastal waters.
Pilots specifically use
pilotagePilotage is the use of fixed visual references on the ground or sea by means of sight or radar to guide oneself to a destination, sometimes with the help of a map or nautical chart. People use pilotage for activities such as guiding vessels and aircraft, hiking and Scuba diving...
techniques relying on nearby visual reference points and local knowledge of
tideTides are the rises and falls of sea level caused by the combined effect of rotation of the Earth and the gravitation of the Moon and the Sun. The tides occur with a period of approximately 12 and a half hours and are influenced by the shape of the near-shore bottom.Most coastal areas experience...
s, swells,
currentsAn ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon the water, such as the wind, Coriolis force, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
, depths and
shoalThings known as shoal, shoals or shoaling include:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals...
s that might not be readily identifiable on
nautical chartA nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land , natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids...
s without first hand experience in the waters in question.
Beyond the experience and training of regular ship's captains, pilots also receive special, ongoing training to stay on top of their profession. Pilots are required by law in most major sea ports of the world for large ships.
In popular culture
- In the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
comic opera The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well-received by both audiences...
Frederic's father directs his nursemaid Ruth to apprentice him to be a pilot but instead she mishears and indentures him to be a piratePiracy is a war-like act committed by private parties that engaged in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the...
till his 21st birthday.
- Dropping the Pilot
Dropping the Pilot is a political cartoon by Sir John Tenniel, first published in the British magazine Punch, March 1890. It depicts Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, as a Maritime pilot, stepping off a ship , watched by the German Emperor Wilhelm II.The cartoon is well known in Germany and often used...
, famous cartoon by Sir John Tenniel
External links