The origins of pilotage law are lost in antiquity. It is known that pilots were used long before the birth of Christ by the Phoenicians and other trading nations of ancient times. It has long been governed by statute law in the United Kingdom, with records compiled at least since the days of King Henry VIII. A series of parliamentary statutes since then have culminated, for the time being, in the Pilotage Act of 1987. Today, pilotage is governed almost entirely by statute law.
Pilotage legislation exists for the preservation of life and property, it being recognised that the carriage of goods and passengers by sea remains a hazardous activity, particularly in areas where any navigation is known to be dangerous. Such circumstances apply usually at the entrances/exits of major ports, within those ports and, to a lesser extent, on certain passages around coastlines where traffic density is high..
The Act of 1987 creates a scheme “to make new provision in respect of pilotage”. Broadly, the scheme provides that each significant trading port should have a “Competent Harbour Authority” or “CHA”. The Act imposes upon the CHA the duty to keep under consideration what pilotage services need to be provided for the safety of shipping in a particular port (including whether or not the use of a pilot should be compulsory) ; and to provide the services which the CHA considers necessary in the circumstances. The CHA is given power to make Pilotage Directions to govern these matters. The CHA has the power to authorise suitable mariners; and to determine their suitability by examination prior to the grant of any authorisation. The CHA has no power to impose terms of direct employment on anybody; but is obliged under the Act to offer terms of employment which the pilots of a port may accept or reject by a simple majority decision. If the majority of the pilots elect to reject the offer of employment then all the pilots of the port remain free to practice their ancient calling on self-employed terms as their forefathers did..
Matters which need to be considered within the law of pilotage therefore include all aspects of hydrography and coastal navigation (with particular reference to the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions At Sea); employment; health and safety; and statutory interpretation. In this latter regard, a peculiar feature of the 1987 Act is that a pilot whose authorisation might be removed by a CHA has no automatic redress to the Courts other than by way of Judicial Review. Previous pilotage statutes included an automatic right of appeal to the County Court..
