Status of Pilots: Sweden 2006

The Swedish pilotage service is provided by governmental employed pilots, employed by The Swedish Maritime Administration, Sjöfartsverket, located in Norrköping. The pilotage is organised in 7 Areas. The pilots are working under The Pilotage Ordinance (Lotsförordningen) of 1989 and The Pilotage Announcement (Lotskungörelsen) of 2005. They are supplemented by the Working Order of the National Administration.

Number of Pilots
There are 225 ( 6 female ) pilots in Sweden.

Among these pilots there are 25 certified “Red Card” holders for the Baltic Sea and one North Sea pilot.

Minimum Qualifications
Licence for Master of  Foreign Going Vessel and recent experience as officer. The applicant has to pass a psychological test (2 days), and must have a health certificate.

Education in the district from 6 month to 5 years/full licence.

Retirement
Swedish pilots are retired at the age of 60.

Tariffs
Tariffs are given by the Administration. The income is difficult to compare to foreign going shipmasters. The pilots get a guaranteed income per month (2/3). The higher the longer they have been employed. They also receive payment per ship and per piloted hour (1/3).

Working hours
Each pilot has an individual schedule with 164 fixed and 18 additional (unscheduled)  working days per year. The schedule is based on a 1/1 system and the pilot works maximum 7 days in a row, after that he is off at least 3 days. Each working day the pilot must be away from work 11 hours for his / her rest. The pilot has also 27 days  of vacation from the scheduled working days.

Guaranteed "rest time"
See above – 11 hours per day but the pilot himself must decide if he is to tired to take a pilotage.

Medical Checks
Swedish pilots have to go for medical checks every second year and if he is 50 or older every year.

Pilots' Organisation
The pilots are organised in a Union called SRAT with 11 000 members. SRAT is a member of SACO, the Swedish Union of University Graduates with several hundreds of thousand organised members.

The Swedish Pilots´ Association, Svenska Lotsförbundet, is negotiating with Sjöfartsverket over wages and all kinds of agreements regarding the rights and the duties for the pilots. We sometimes need help from our  two main organisations. Lotsförbundet is also represented in all working groups and is the professional body to which SMA consult in matters regarding pilotage.

Lotsförbundet is organised into 19 local organisations which all have their elected chairman. Those local organisations are formed into 5 districts with an elected chairman in each district. Those 5 chairmen together with the elected President form the the Board of Lotsförbundet.

Swedish Pilots´Association / Svenska Lotsförbundet-Membership
All the pilots

EMPA-Membership
All the pilots

IMPA-Membership
All the pilots

Pilot Stations
All pilot stations and pilot boats are owned  and employed by the Administration.

Compulsory Pilotage
Pilotage is compulsory in all Swedish ports for. The parameters are a mix between length ( 70-110 meters) and beam and sometimes also depth. On big ships, depending on which pilot station, two pilots are used.

PEC
It is possible for any master to get a PEC.

Requirements for PEC's :

The master must show his experience of the fairway in a theoretical and practical test. Special pilots who are responsible for the examination shall check the following things :

- safety standard of the ship, that includes the size, construction, equipment, cargo and manning in comparison to the fairway,

- written document of the masters knowledge of the fairway including passage plan,

- the masters skill in handling the ship in the fairway one trip in each direction,

- foreign masters knowledge in a Scandinavian language and/or in English. The check shall be under normal conversation and by radio traffic during the voyage.