Sanction maintains the Brazilian Navy as a maritime authority that has the competence to regulate the economic activity
The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) sanctioned this Monday (15.jan.2024) the PL (bill) 757 of 2022, which provides legal certainty and regulatory stability to pilotage services. The text was sanctioned without vetoes and maintained the Brazilian Navy as the maritime authority in the economic regulation of the activity.
The pilot is the professional who safely guides ships when entering and leaving ports, both when navigating the access channel and when docking and undocking the vessel.
The milestone regularized the single rotation dynamic of pilots, already in use and authorized by the Brazilian Navy. This mechanic means that pilotage services are performed based on a scale that is linked to a certain pilotage zone. This way, the frequency, distribution and permanent availability of the service is guaranteed.
With the Navy responsible for approving single rotation scales, the Antaq (National Waterway Transport Agency) will act as a consultant in decision-making on possible allegations of abuse of economic power in pilotage services.
The Navy will also be able, based on complaints from shipping companies, to temporarily set the prices for the service. As pilotage is a private activity, negotiations are usually carried out freely between the service provider and the contractor.
Companies are obliged to hire pilotage services, but the new law allows the maritime authority to grant pilotage exemption to Brazilian captains of Brazilian-flagged ships up to 100 meters in length, with at least 2/3 of the Brazilian crew.
There are 603 pilots active in Brazil. The country is the 4th with the largest number of professionals in the sector, behind the United States, Germany and Indonesia.
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