Status of Pilots: Norway 2004

The Norwegian Pilotage Service is a governmental enterprise organized within the National Coastal Administration. The Coastal Administration is the national competent port authority, and is also responsible for the lighthouse- and aids to navigation service, and the national contingency response system for acute pollution.  The National Coastal Administration reports to the Ministry of Fisheries.

Legislation
The Pilotage Act of June l6th 1989 with later amendments regulates the pilotage service. In addition to some general provisions the Act regulates the organization of the service, some general conditions on the pilotage, dues, recruitment and training of pilots and the qualification requirements. The Act is supplemented by several regulations, which more specifically regulate the administrative organization of the pilotage service, such as borders between the pilotage districts, as well as qualification requirements, training, examination, licensing, health requirements, instructions, pilotage tariffs etc.



Organization
The Ministry's duties according to the Pilotage Act are carried out by  the National Coastal Administration, of which the Coastal Directorate is the central authority. There are 5 Coastal District Offices and 8 Pilotage Districts (losoldermannskap). Each Pilotage District is managed by a Pilotmaster (losoldermann).
The pilots are trained, examined, licensed and employed by the Coastal Administration. A few ports have their own docking masters, trained and employed by the port authorities. The pilots and all other personnel employed in the governmental pilotage service are civil servants.

    
Number of Pilots
By December 2003 the number of pilots was 273.
There are no Deep-Sea Pilots in Norway. There are no pilots of the female gender in Norway.

Minimum Qualifications
 l.     The highest Master's exam.   
 2.    The highest Chief Officer's license.
 3.    3 years experience as responsible duty officer on bridge of sea-going ships, or 3 years
        equivalent experience on board naval ships.
 4.   Physical and psychical fitness.
    
The training period for becoming a pilot is depending on the extension of the licensed area (from 3 to 5 years). After approximately 3 months of training, the pilot apprentice has his first pilot exam, and will thereafter get a limited pilot certificate on which he can pilot smaller ships in restricted areas during the remainder of his training period. The training includes the use of simulators, and a CRM module. Continued proficiency and health requirements are due every second year.

Retirement
The voluntary retirement age for Norwegian pilots is at 62 years, and compulsory retirement is at 65. Full pension rights are attained after 30 years of governmental service, or when the total period of governmental service added to the age reaches to 85 years.
    
Government pilots are members of the Governmental Pension Fund. The pension amounts to 2/3 of the income at the time of retirement. At the age of 67 the governmental pension is "merged" with the general old-age pension, which means that the total pension will be raised up to about 70-75% of the income at the time of retirement.

Tariff / Income
The Norwegian Pilotage Service is a non-profit enterprise. The Ministry of Fisheries fixes the tariffs every year in accordance with the stipulated costs.  The tariff system is cost effective, considerable savings can be made when not using a pilot. The fee when using a pilot is time-based (rates per hour are depending on tonnage).
 The pilots have fixed salaries. In addition they are paid overtime bonus and a small boarding bonus. Traveling allowances are paid accordance with the national regulations for civil servants.

Working Hours
The working hours for governmental pilots are (according to agreement) 1824 hours per year. Usually the working hours are carried out in watch periods of 7-14 days, totaling  137 days per year. A pilot shall have a minimum of 12 hours rest per day. The periods of rest may not be divided into more than two periods per day.
    
ACTIVITY
In 2003, the pilots in Norway carried out 43,789 acts of pilotage. This was an increase of 6,2% compared with the previous year. The annual turnover in 2003 was NOK 397m (€ 46m).



PECs
The key elements in the regulations on compulsory pilotage and PEC's in Norwegian waters are: Compulsory pilotage inside the base line for ships of more than 500 GT. For ships carrying dangerous or polluting cargo in bulk pilotage is compulsory for ships of more than 300 GT (with double bottom) or 100 GT (with single bottom). Ships carrying some specific cargoes (i.e. liquefied gas) are obliged to use a pilot regardless of tonnage.
    
The following ships are excepted from the regulations:
     ·    domestic ferries
     ·    EU fishing vessels
     ·    other fishing vessels with a base in Norway
     ·    ships in domestic trade when not carrying dangerous or polluting cargoes
     ·    ships where the master is holding a PEC.
    
    Conditions for obtaining a PEC:
     ·    6 voyages in each direction of the fairway within the last 12 months
     ·    thorough knowledge of the fairway, the ship, rules, regulations, procedures etc.
     ·    ability to adequately communicate in a Scandinavian language, or English
     ·    successful test (by a commission)
     ·    positive risk evaluation (ship/cargo/fairway).
    

By the end of 2003, the total number of PEC's issued in Norway was 3,888, of which 2,582 are considered to be valid.  In addition, the pilotage authorities granted 939 dispensations from the compulsory pilotage regulations in 2003, which is a decrease of 11,5% compared with 2002.