Status of Pilots: Greece 2003

LEGISLATION

Pilotage service is regulated mostly by Act 3142 of 18/23 February 1955 as revised to-date. Provisions on pilotage are also found in the Code of Public Maritime Law and bye-laws of ports and harbors. Administration of pilotage is conducted by the Ministry of Merchant Marine. Pilots are employed as civil servants by the state with the exception of Corinth Canal pilots who are employed by the corporation managing the canal.

Panhellenic Marine Pilots Association is a first grade  Trade Union. Membership is open to all Greek state employed pilots.

There are no Greek Deep-Sea pilots.

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

1.      Age not exceeding 55 years.

2.      Clear criminal reports.

3.      Satisfactory physical fitness duly ascertained.

4.      Master´s or Chief Officer´s (Greek) licence.

5.      Ten years sea service of which at least: Three years in command of motor vessels of 250 GT or more.

6.      Successful passing of exams / tests on several subjects followed by a six month training practice under the supervision of licensed pilots.´

Retirement
Latest retirement age is that of 65 years.

PILOT STATIONS / DISTRICTS

There are fourteen pilot stations in Greece (Piraeus, Salonica, Patras, Volos, Heraklion, Kalamata / Pylos, Corfu, Chalkis, Syros,Lavrion, Kavala,Itea, and Rhodes) manned by 35 ordinary / licensed pilots who are supported by assistant personnel. It is expected that the number of pilots shall rise to 48 within the year 2001

Local Harbour Masters (officers of the Greek Coast Guard) are supervising the pilot stations established within their territory. Harbour Masters of ports which have no pilot station, may occasionally entrust local pilotage to qualified deck officers.

COMPULSORY PILOTAGE AND PECs
In principle pilotage is compulsory in all Greek ports which have got pilot stations. No exemption certificates are issuedin Greece. Yet the follwing major classes of ships are generally exempted:

1.      Passenger and Ro-Ro / Passenger ships ordinarily employed in itineraries either between Greek ports and up to maximum two foreign ports.
2.      Man-of-War
3.      Greek ships of less than 500 GT
4.      All cruising ships (irrespectively of nationality) of less than 500 GT. 

WORKING HOURS
Each pilot station regulates its own working schedule. An annual leave of 36 days is provided by legislation.

TARIFFS / INCOME
Tariffs are set by the Ministry of Merchant Marine. Pilots incomeis dependent upon – and augmented by 20% - the basic wages of a master of a coaster / passenger ship. Such wages being provided for in yearly Collective Agreements entered to by Owners´and Mariners´Unions. In the year 2000 a pilot´s yearly income was about € 27.500.