British pilotage, which is run by commercially-minded harbour authorities, which score points by doing more with less, a principle incompatible with marine pilotage as a public service.
AN inherently corrupt system governs British marine pilotage because reforms to the old bad system created a systemic conflict of interest which makes the new one worse than ever, says ex-pilot and solicitor Barrie Youde.
A pilotage reform campaigner, Mr Youde's pleas come at a time when public attention has been focused on the profession after a still unidentified Southampton pilot grounded the Singaporean car carrier Hoegh Osaka last month near Southampton.
In his defence, Don Cockrill, chairman of the UK Maritime Pilots' Association (UKMPA), said: "Things could have been much worse. The quick thinking, decisions and actions of the pilot resulted in the prevention of a major catastrophic event."
At issue, said Mr Youde, is the structure British pilotage, which is run by commercially-minded harbour authorities, which score points by doing more with less, a principle incompatible with marine pilotage as a public service.
At least under the unsatisfactory 1913 act, each local pilotage authority was obliged to provide returns and accounts to parliament every three years, said Mr Youde.
"Upon repeal of the 1913 act, not only were the former local pilotage authorities abolished but the harbour authorities which replaced them were given no obligation to provide accounts to anybody," he wrote in New York's Maritime Advocate.
"Most harbour authorities operate on a commercial basis without obligation to account to Parliament, but with discretionary power to impose compulsory pilotage and levy charges," he said.
"As with any commercial asset, the urge to use it on advantageous terms is a strong one. The motivation to secure the largest possible return for the least outlay is quite possibly the bedrock principle of any prosperous business," said Mr Youde.
"That principle, however, pays no heed to the public interest which is the originating factor upon which all pilotage exists. Relieved of public accountability, it is natural that any commercial body will pay scant heed thereto," said Mr Youde.
"It is for that reason alone that accountability to the public executive remains a demonstrable necessity," he said.
A pilotage reform campaigner, Mr Youde's pleas come at a time when public attention has been focused on the profession after a still unidentified Southampton pilot grounded the Singaporean car carrier Hoegh Osaka last month near Southampton.
In his defence, Don Cockrill, chairman of the UK Maritime Pilots' Association (UKMPA), said: "Things could have been much worse. The quick thinking, decisions and actions of the pilot resulted in the prevention of a major catastrophic event."
At issue, said Mr Youde, is the structure British pilotage, which is run by commercially-minded harbour authorities, which score points by doing more with less, a principle incompatible with marine pilotage as a public service.
At least under the unsatisfactory 1913 act, each local pilotage authority was obliged to provide returns and accounts to parliament every three years, said Mr Youde.
"Upon repeal of the 1913 act, not only were the former local pilotage authorities abolished but the harbour authorities which replaced them were given no obligation to provide accounts to anybody," he wrote in New York's Maritime Advocate.
"Most harbour authorities operate on a commercial basis without obligation to account to Parliament, but with discretionary power to impose compulsory pilotage and levy charges," he said.
"As with any commercial asset, the urge to use it on advantageous terms is a strong one. The motivation to secure the largest possible return for the least outlay is quite possibly the bedrock principle of any prosperous business," said Mr Youde.
"That principle, however, pays no heed to the public interest which is the originating factor upon which all pilotage exists. Relieved of public accountability, it is natural that any commercial body will pay scant heed thereto," said Mr Youde.
"It is for that reason alone that accountability to the public executive remains a demonstrable necessity," he said.
What annoys Mr Youde today is that ministerial authority has not seen fit to effect reform despite the findings of the parliamentary Transport Select Committee which concluded in March 2013 that "light-touch regulation had been taken too far".
"The impropriety in the Department for Transport could hardly be more clear. It boils down to the fact that no Secretary of State has held any harbour authority accountable in pilotage since the Sea Empress disaster, now almost 20 years ago where formerly every local pilotage authority was held accountable every three years," he said.
The 147,272-dwt Sea Empress oil spill occurred off Wales in 1996 when she went aground and spilt 72,000 tonnes of crude oil.
There are 140 harbour authorities which, by the terms of the 1987 Pilotage Act, wield the discretionary power to impose compulsory pilotage on shipping within the areas of their respective jurisdictions and to levy charges for those services.
Those 140 harbour authorities have replaced a similar number of pilotage authorities which previously wielded similar powers under earlier legislation, principally the 1913 Pilotage Act, which was repealed upon the introduction of the Act of 1987.
"The impropriety in the Department for Transport could hardly be more clear. It boils down to the fact that no Secretary of State has held any harbour authority accountable in pilotage since the Sea Empress disaster, now almost 20 years ago where formerly every local pilotage authority was held accountable every three years," he said.
The 147,272-dwt Sea Empress oil spill occurred off Wales in 1996 when she went aground and spilt 72,000 tonnes of crude oil.
There are 140 harbour authorities which, by the terms of the 1987 Pilotage Act, wield the discretionary power to impose compulsory pilotage on shipping within the areas of their respective jurisdictions and to levy charges for those services.
Those 140 harbour authorities have replaced a similar number of pilotage authorities which previously wielded similar powers under earlier legislation, principally the 1913 Pilotage Act, which was repealed upon the introduction of the Act of 1987.
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