JPUG – safe navigation with pilots

This (30th September 2009) was the fifth time the JPUG (Joint Pilotage User Group) met to discuss results and the new steps to be taken in 2010. For several years the statistics for Danish waters have shown an increase in the use of pilotage in transit waters, where pilotage is not compulsory. This year the figures again show improvements, particularly with regard to tankers. In fact, only one tanker has transited without a pilot in 2009 to date. This means that JPUG’s efforts are supporting an increase in the use of pilots, in accordance with the IMO recommendations on navigation through the entrances to the Baltic Sea.

JPUG consists of maritime authorities (the Danish Maritime Safety Administration, the Danish Pilotage Authority and the Danish Maritime Authority), the service provider for transit pilotage (DanPilot) and users of pilotage services (international shipping organisations and others), who last met at the end of September 2008 in Copenhagen to discuss the promising results. JPUG’s primary mission is to promote the use of pilotage and thus make navigation in Danish waters as safe as possible.

“We are very satisfied about the results, but there is still room for improvement – and due to the present economic situation for many ship owners, developments should be closely monitored,” says Svend Eskildsen, Director of the Danish Maritime Safety Administration and Chairman of JPUG. He promises that their efforts in the coming year will be just as intensive, and will be characterised by new measures.

Up to the present, JPUG has made considerable efforts to inform ships’ masters and their shipping companies about the advantages of pilotage services, and these information activities will continue in the years ahead. It is also important to keep up the annual JPUG meetings, since the interaction between service providers and users is highly valuable. Through this contact the service providers gain relevant, up-to-date knowledge, which can be applied in specific actions in Danish waters.

The insurance world also has an interest in the use of pilotage
This year the International Group of P & I Clubs took part in the discussions, since the use of pilotage plays a very significant part in reducing the risk involved in navigation through the narrow Danish waters.

Facts about JPUG
JPUG was established in 2005.
The member organisations are: the Danish Maritime Safety Administration, the Danish Maritime Authority, DanPilot, the Danish Pilotage Authority, INTERTANKO, INTERCARGO, BIMCO, OCIMF, ICS and now the International Group of P & I Clubs.

JPUG's mission is to increase the use of pilotage and make navigation in Danish waters as safe as possible.

The Joint Pilotage User Group should:

• in general, provide a two-way process and feedback
• evaluate feedback from users as well as from the pilotage service providers and take actions as appropriate
• review and comment on issues related to safety of navigation, e.g. bridge team management, the pilot within the bridge team and the training of pilots
• address issues concerning possible future changes in Danish regulations relating to pilotage services
• examine the availability of pilots and the extent of pilotage for ships in transit through the entrances to the Baltic Sea, in accordance with IMO resolution SN. 1/Circ.263
• upon request of the Danish Administration of Navigation and Hydrography, assist with the implementation of new relevant pilotage services in the entrance to the Baltic Sea – such as future relevant shore-based pilotage regimes
• evaluate the charges for pilotage services – observing that the fee is a parameter when deciding whether to use the services or not, while also recognising that safety remains paramount.

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