Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots

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the great clipper ships, many vessels headed for the Port of Quebec have run aground along the banks of the St. Lawrence or on its countless shoals. Stories of tragic shipwrecks abound, and no one knows how many seamen and passengers have lost their lives to the river. In the 17th century, it became apparent that trained river pilots were needed. In 1647, Abraham Martin became the first King’s Pilot authorized to guide ships up and down the St. Lawrence. Today, even though pilotage plays a crucial role in ensuring safe navigation and protecting the environment, few people know about river pilots or what they do. We invite you to discover this exciting profession through the history and the services provided by the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots (Corporation des pilotes du Bas Saint-Laurent).

The Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots The Corporation, formed in 1960, is an association of river pilots working in a section of the St. Lawrence River called District 2, the Lower St. Lawrence District or the District of Quebec. District 2 extends from the western limit of the Port of Quebec to an imaginary line drawn between Anse-aux-Basques (Les Escoumins) on the north shore and the church in the village of Saint-Simon on the south shore. The Saguenay River is also part of this district. District 2 is the oldest pilotage district in Canada, and also boasts one of the largest areas and some of the most beautiful landscapes. The continuous pilotage runs are among the longest in the world: 123 miles from Quebec City to Les Escoumins and 172 miles from Quebec City to Chicoutimi. The district includes many harbours such as Rivière-du-Loup, Cacouna, Cap-à-l’Aigle, Pointe-au-Pic, Tadoussac, Port-Alfred, Grande-Anse and Chicoutimi. Development potential is almost unlimited, given the district’s choice geographical location and the depth of its waters. Quebec pilots are members of the Corporation, which, along with the Laurentian Pilotage Authority, holds an exclusive contract for pilotage services within District 2. The Corporation has its own training program for apprentice pilots. It interacts with governments, companies and other parties involved in maritime activities, on behalf of its members. Its members are entrepreneurs whose practice of the profession is overseen by the Corporation. The Corporation’s head office (Maison du pilote) is located on Bassin Louise in the Port of Quebec. Training: A lengthy process Anyone who hopes to become a pilot must spend many years sailing ships in Canada and all over the world. Pilot training usually takes about twelve years and includes a period of intensive learning and practice on the river. The first basic requirement is a diploma from a recognized marine school. All our current pilots are graduates of the Institut maritime du Québec. During their sea service as cadet officers, aspiring apprentice pilots acquire the experience they need to be eligible for the Transport Canada examinations in order to obtain an officer’s certificate for deep-sea and coastal navigation. All candidates have five to ten years of navigation experience as captains or deck watch officers—experience that prepares the future pilot for the responsibility of guiding ships on the St. Lawrence. After obtaining a master’s certificate, aspiring pilots must apprentice for two years in the district, making numerous trips under the supervision of licensed pilots and acquiring local knowledge of the river. They then appear before a board of examiners composed of pilots and representatives of the Laurentian Pilotage Authority. Apprentices who pass these rigorous examinations receive a licence from the Authority allowing them to pilot small vessels. For the next eight years, after taking specialized courses in shiphandling using scale models and simulators, pilots are promoted to a superior class licence. When they have finally obtained a Class A licence, they have the experience and skills needed to pilot ships of all types and sizes. Most candidates are at least 30 years old before they become licensed pilots. The pilot and navigational safety Every ship has a captain and three deck officers responsible for navigating the ship in open waters, that is, on the sea and approaching the coastline. However, when the ship gets into narrow waters, these people cannot possibly be familiar with the obstacles and dangers present in every river in every part of the world. The pilot, after years of specialized training, is able to guide the ship through narrow waters full of shoals, reefs, currents, tides and other ships. For this reason, when a ship coming in from the ocean arrives in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a pilot comes on board at Les Escoumis and takes charge of navigation and shiphandling. The presence of a pilot is crucial in the St. Lawrence River. Even on Canadian ships that make frequent trips in the district, the captain cannot have sufficient knowledge of the local characteristics of the river. It would be extremely dangerous to sail a ship on the St. Lawrence without a thorough knowledge of the currents, tides, shoals, aids to navigation, landmarks and climatology. The ocean is a wide-open space with few shoals and little traffic. Any obstacle encountered can be easily circumvented. But on an inland waterway like the St. Lawrence, obstacles are numerous and varied, and difficult to get around. Most countries have laws and regulations to ensure the competence of people steering ships near the coast or through inland waters. In compulsory pilotage areas, the ship’s captain must enlist the services of a pilot to take charge of navigation and guide the ship safely to its destination. The pilot and risk management Growth in trade has brought increasingly large ships to the St. Lawrence. Nowadays, some of the ships that enter the Port of Quebec are more than 270 metres long and 47 metres wide, with capacities of over 150,000 freight tons. Pilots have learned every square foot of the river. They use landmarks, a variety of navigational aids and their own knowledge of the river bed to avoid shoals, reefs and other obstacles. The tide near the Port of Quebec can be as high as seven metres and is felt as far upstream as Lake St. Pierre, above Trois-Rivières. It creates strong currents that constantly vary in direction and velocity. The depth of water available under keel varies with the ebb and flow of the tide. This is a great impediment to the circulation of deep-draught vessels. In addition, the natural current in the St. Lawrence can reach six or seven knots in some parts of the river. Together, the current and tide can cause a ship to drift out of the navigable channel or into the course of another ship, if not corrected by periodic changes of course. Thousands of vessels travel up and down the St. Lawrence each year. They must be handled responsibly and with awareness of the environmental risk they represent, since many of them carry dangerous, toxic or highly polluting products, in addition to large amounts of engine fuel. The St. Lawrence pilots, because of their expertise and professionalism, are the best insurance policy against accidents whose impacts on the river, its ecosystems and the surrounding population would be nothing short of disastrous. While the river is Canada’s largest shipping route, it is also a source of drinking water for 75 percent of the population of the Province of Quebec, as well as the site of ecosystems recognized around the world for their biodiversity. Located in the Lower St. Lawrence, at the heart of the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve, the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, created in 1997, is the habitat and breeding ground for numerous species of fish and marine mammals. The river pilot as a neutral party Immediately upon embarking, the pilot goes over the condition of the ship and its equipment with the captain, then takes charge of navigation, giving instructions to the helmsman. The pilot is not a crew member and is therefore a neutral party, serving as a link between the ship and the maritime safety regulations of the host country. Despite strong pressure from shipowners trying to increase their profits, pilots continue to ensure rapid yet safe navigation, often under difficult conditions. They can do this because they are not directly employed by the owner and are answerable only for the safe navigation of the ship.