Update of pilotage law proposed
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In accordance with the Pilotage Ordinance, pilotage services are mandatory for visiting ships of 3 000 tonnages or over within Hong Kong waters to ensure navigation safety. These pilots are classified into Class I and Class II according to their experience. Class I pilots can pilot a vessel of any length. Class II pilots can only pilot vessels not exceeding certain lengths according to their respective pilotage levels. There are four levels of pilotage in Class II, i.e. Class IIA, IIB, IIC and IID. In Class II, Class IIA pilots can operate longer vessels and need more experience to qualify, and Class IID the least experience. Pilots are required to accumulate the experience stipulated in the Pilotage Order for progression from one level to the next. Currently, there are 108 licensed pilots.
"The lengths of visiting ships have been increasing over the years. As more skill is required for operating longer vessels, the Pilotage Advisory Committee decided to add two more levels of Class II pilotage, Class IIE and IIF, to enable pilots to acquire the necessary experience in handling larger vessels in a progressive manner," a spokesperson for the Transport and Housing Bureau said today (October 7).
The requirements for pilotage progression and information on the berths used for progression purposes will be updated accordingly.
The Pilotage Advisory Committee endorsed the legislative proposal. The Panel on Economic Development of the Legislative Council (LegCo) has been consulted and supports the proposal.
The proposed legislative amendments, gazetted today, will be tabled at LegCo for negative vetting on October 12 for commencement on December 23. The new pilotage scale will apply to pilots licensed after commencement of the legislative amendments.
Ends/Friday, October 7, 2016
Issued at HKT 11:43
Issued at HKT 11:43
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