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A pilot is a mariner who manoeuvres ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths, and completes the berthing / unberthing operation of the ships by controlling the ship's manoeuvrability directly and the tugs and shore linesmen through a radio. Pilots are expert shiphandlers who possess detailed knowledge of local waterways. They are transported by high speed pilot boats or helicopter from shore to an inbound ship and from an outbound ship back ashore. Most ports have compulsory pilotage. Legally, the master has full responsibility for safe navigation of his vessel, even if a pilot is on board. If he has clear grounds that the pilot may jeopardise the safety of navigation, he can relieve him from his duties and ask for another pilot or, if not compulsory to have a pilot on board, navigate the vessel without one. Only in transit of the Panama Canal does the pilot have the full responsibility for the navigation of the vessel. In English law, Section 742 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 defines a pilot as "any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof." In other words, someone other than a member of the crew who has control over the speed, direction, and movement of the ship. The current United Kingdom legislation governing pilotage is the Pilotage Act 1987. Pilotage is one of the oldest professions, as old as sea travel, and it is one of the most important in maritime safety. The oldest ''recorded'' history dates back to about the 7th century BC.〔("Be a marine pilot" ) Retrieved 3 April 2013.〕 The economic and environmental risk from today's large cargo ships makes the role of the pilot essential. == History == The work functions of the pilot go back to Ancient Greece and Roman times, when locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, were employed by incoming ships' captains to bring their trading vessels into port safely. Eventually, because the act of pilotage needed to be regulated and to ensure that pilots had adequate insurance, the harbours licensed pilots. The California Board of Pilot Commissioners was the first government agency created by California's legislature, in 1850. Before harbour boards were established, pilots known as hobblers would compete with one another. The first to reach an incoming ship would navigate it to the docks and receive payment. In Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, there is a monument to the hobblers who lost their lives.〔 〕 In Kent they were known as "hovellers" and worked alongside and in competition with the licensed pilots, but were sometimes blamed as wreckers. George Byng Gattie defends the hovellers or "hobilers" as lifesavers in his 1890 book about the Goodwin Sands. Although licensed by the harbour to operate within their jurisdiction, pilots were generally self-employed, and so had to have quick transport to get from the port to the incoming ships. As pilots were often still dual-employed, they used their own fishing boats to reach the incoming vessels. But fishing boats were heavy working boats, and filled with fishing equipment, hence a new type of boat was required. Early boats were developed from single-masted cutters and twin-masted yawls, and later into the specialist pilot cutter. These were effectively light-weight and over-powered single masted boats with large steeply angled keels, making them deep draft under power and shallow draft in lighter sail. Joseph Henderson was an early American harbor pilot. He is well known for being a Sandy Hook Pilot for the New York harbor and along the Atlantic Coast during the Civil War. Some historic pilot vessels are still sailing. 18 Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters are believed to survive worldwide (see the article on Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters for more information). In addition to them... * ... the German pilot schooner ''No. 5 Elbe'' was launched in 1883 and had a long history as pilot boat, as private yacht named ''Wander Bird'' and later as home to hippies in San Francisco, before returning to Germany and being restored as a traditional sailing boat. * ... the German pilot schooner ''Cuxhaven'' was launched in 1901 and survived as a sailing boat, renamed ''Atalanta'' and still active as a traditional sail training ship under that name. * ... the US motorboat USS ''California'' was completed in 1910 and served in World War I on harbor patrol duty. * ... the US two-masted gaff-rigged schooner ''Adventuress'' launched in 1913 also saw service as a pilot boat, and during World War II served with the United States Coast Guard. * ... the US two-masted gaff-rigged schooner ''Zodiac'' was built as a racing sailboat in 1924 and also named ''California'' after being acquired by the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association for use as a pilot boat. * ... the US schooner ''Roseway'', built in 1925, owned by the Boston Pilot Association for thirty years until 1973, now a registered U.S. National Historic Landmark operating in Boston and St. Croix, USVI by World Ocean School, Camden, ME The ''Zodiac'' and ''Adventuress'' are both listed with the National Register of Historic Places and are now cruising in Washington state after restorations.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Schooner Adventuress National Historic Landmark Study )〕 In the Inland Brown Water Trade another type of pilots are known as trip pilots. Due to the shortage of qualified posted masters these independent contractors fill the holes in the manning schedule on inland push boats on various inland river routes. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maritime pilot」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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