Brazil’s Congress Votes to Regulate Pilotage Activities

In a symbolic vote, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, approved on Tuesday (21) the bill that outlines the economic regulation of pilotage activity. The text, reported by Deputy Coronel Meira, now moves to the Senate. It introduces rules that separate the evaluations of the navigation and pilotage sectors, particularly regarding the mandatory hiring of pilot services.

Pilotage is the activity that guides ships in and out of ports, both in their navigation through the access channel and in berthing and unberthing. The service is performed on board by the pilot, a professional who boards the moving ship using a ladder extended on the side of the vessel. The activity aims to safeguard navigation in areas with heavier traffic and other characteristics that a captain may not be familiar with.

The bill amends the Law of Aquatic Traffic Safety and Law 10,233/2001, which created the National Waterway Transportation Agency (Antaq). The text maintains that the value of the services is to be freely negotiated between navigation and pilotage. It also keeps the possibility that these values can be questioned, and, in an extraordinary, exceptional, and temporary capacity, proven abuse of economic power or price lag, the Navy can establish a commission to issue an advisory opinion on the price. According to the text, Antaq can also be part of this commission.

Details

The bill establishes the qualifications for exercising and maintaining pilotage services, as well as the structure of services, remuneration, parameters for the maritime authority to establish annual professional staffing, and cases where pilot use can be waived. The most contentious point is precisely this last one.

In the original draft from 2019, it was foreseen that the maritime authority could “authorize commanders of Brazilian-flagged vessels to navigate the vessel under their command within a specific Pilotage Zone or stretches of it, without the assistance of a pilot.”

The text states that such an exemption will not be possible for vessels over 500 GT. Exceptions are made for situations provided by the maritime authority in specific regulations. For exemptions granted by the maritime power, it must be observed that this possibility is limited to ships up to 100 meters in length, with the Brazilian commander having a minimum of 6 months’ experience in the area, with 2/3 of the crew also Brazilian, subject to prior risk analysis.

Source: A Tribuna

To read the original news report, please visit: https://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/portomar/camara-dos-deputados-aprova-regulamentacao-da-praticagem

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