Pilotage District

A pilotage district is the statutorily defined area within which pilotage is regulated, often compulsory, and within which a pilot’s license is valid. National pilotage law sets the district boundaries, the classes of ship that must take a pilot, and the qualifications a pilot needs for that area. The district concept ties a pilot’s local knowledge to a fixed geography and underpins the licensing tiers an apprentice pilot works through.