APA Applauds Withdrawal of NARW Speed Restriction Regulations
On January 16, 2025, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) formally withdrew its August 1, 2022, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that sought amendments to the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule that would have had the unintended consequences of endangering pilots, weakening navigation safety, and damaging the maritime supply chain on the East Coast. While the American Pilots’ Association (APA) announced that it welcomes the proposal’s withdrawal…
IMPA to Test Remote Pilotage Solutions
The international study on remote pilotage launched by the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) and its partners in the summer 2024 is now reaching out to manufacturers and system integrators to solicit their participation in the trials phases of the study.IMPA’s partners include the Canadian National Centre of Expertise on Maritime Pilotage (NCEMP) and the Canadian Coast Guard. Together, they are exploring remote pilotage to evaluate its feasibility, readiness and impacts on safe navigation practices and systems.It is designed to deliver unbiased…
Why Compulsory Pilotage Is So Effective
When asked why pilots(1) are so effective, most say, “They know the local waters.” While true, there are other important factors that make pilotage so effective.Compulsory pilotage is navigation safety regulation, and by far the most effective mechanism available to governments to protect the marine environment while facilitating maritime commerce(2). Pilotage regulations are so effective because, unlike other maritime safety regulations which merely direct a ship to take or not take certain actions…
