Pilotage Service
Pilotage navigation, or simply pilotage, is navigation that requires, from those who direct it, perfect knowledge, acquired through practice, of local or regional particularities that hinder the free and safe movement of vessels. By extension, pilotage is also the name given to the organization tasked with conducting pilotage navigation in ports and their access channels, bars, rivers or even along stretches of the coast where such particularities occur.
The professionals responsible for pilotage navigation are called Pilots, and are responsible for the safe handling of very high assets - ships, their cargo and crews - exactly when they are subject to the greatest risks, that is, when sailing close to land, in narrow channels, amid submerged hazards and local maritime traffic, suffering the influence of a wide range of local conditions in permanent mutation, such as currents, tidal variations, sea state, wind regime, silting up of waterways, etc.
​
The professionals responsible for pilotage navigation are called Pilots, and are responsible for the safe handling of very high assets - ships, their cargo and crews - exactly when they are subject to the greatest risks, that is, when sailing close to land, in narrow channels, amid underwater hazards and local maritime traffic, suffering the influence of a wide range of constantly changing local conditions, such as currents, tidal variations, sea conditions,wind regime, silting up of waterways, etc.
Pilotage Maneuver
​
The pilotage maneuver takes place near the berth where the ship will be berthed or from which it will be unberthed. The mooring or unberthing maneuver consists of lateral or longitudinal movement, as well as turning the ship inside the estuary, by its own means or with the aid of tugboats. During the manoeuvre, the pilot coordinates the ground teams, which will do the work of positioning and mooring the ship, the tug crew, which will always act based on the pilot's instructions, and the ship itself, whose captain transmits the orders established in together with the practical.
At the moment of the maneuver, the effect of winds and currents is maximum, even if of small intensity. The proximity of the pier, the size of the ships and the magnitude of the forces involved make the maneuver the most risky moment. Finally, the pilotage service is concerned with minimizing the risks involved in navigation and maneuvering ships in confined or restricted waters.
​
​
Year
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Maneuvers
13,360
13,486
12,798
12,213
11,891
11,996
11,159
11,782
11,525
11,392
11,587
11,038
11,771