Pilot card

The pilot card is a single sheet handed to the pilot on boarding that states the ship’s current condition for the maneuver ahead: dimensions, drafts forward and aft, displacement, and the status of propulsion, steering, thrusters, anchors, and bridge equipment. Its format and content are standardized by IMO Resolution A.601(15) on maneuvering information, alongside the permanently posted wheelhouse poster and the maneuvering booklet. The card lets the master-pilot exchange start from agreed facts, where the pilot reads turning circle and stopping data at a glance and confirms blind sectors, gyro or speed-log errors, and any defect. It is filled in fresh for the actual loaded or ballast condition, not left at a standard figure.