The Swedish Transport Agency establishes regulations on pilotage in
the Swedish territorial waters. The Swedish Transport Agency also
issues Pilot Exemption Certificates.
Valid regulations are found in the Swedish Transport Agency's
Regulations and General Advice (TSFS 2009:123) on Pilotage (for the
moment only available in Swedish). These regulations stipulate in
which fairways and waters the use of pilot is compulsory. Whether
or not the master of a vessel navigating in these fairways and
waters shall use a pilot depends on the size of the vessel and the
type of cargo it is carrying.
As a general principle the use of pilot is compulsory in the
Swedish internal waters (landward of the baseline). To the larger
ports in Sweden there are designated pilotage fairways. In these
fairways, specific rules for e.g. vessel dimensions determine
whether or not pilotage is compulsory.
Pilotage line
A pilotage line is a line at the entrance of a designated
pilotage fairway, indicating the border where the compulsory use of
pilot comes in force. The locations of the pilotage lines stated
for the respective designated pilotage fairways are found in the
pilotage regulations.
When a vessel entering a fairway and passes a pilotage line, the
pilot shall be fully prepared to start the pilotage. When an
outbound vessel passes through a fairway the pilotage must not come
to an end before the vessel passes the pilotage line. The pilot
boarding area for each designated pilotage fairway is established
by the Swedish Maritime Administration. The location of the
boarding area is determined with regard to, among other things, the
positions of the pilotage line.
Pilot Exemption Certificate (PEC)
The pilotage regulations state how a master or other nautical
officer on a vessel can apply for an exemption from compulsory
pilotage. An exemption from compulsory pilotage is issued as a
Pilot Exemption Certificate, which is valid for a designated
pilotage fairway or other areas. The theoretical and practical
examinations that must be passed to obtain a PEC are described in
the pilotage regulations.
Area exemptions
The pilotage regulations establish so called area exemptions. An
area exemption is valid for certain sections of a port or other
areas. An area exemption implies that the use of pilot is not
compulsory for shorter movements in the area, for example when
shifting between berths. The valid area exemptions are found in the
pilotage regulations.
Fees
The fees for the issuing of PECs and other exemptions from
compulsory pilotage are regulated in The Swedish Transport
Agency’s Regulations (TSFS 2010:185) on Fees within the
Maritime Sector (for the moment only available in Swedish), which
come into force on 1 January 2011.
Pilotage services
The Swedish Maritime Administration is the provider of pilotage
services in Sweden. Regulations for these services and their
respective fees are found in the Swedish Maritime
Administration’s Regulations (SJÖFS 2009:24) on the
Availability of Pilots, Ordering of Pilotage, Allocation of
Pilots.
The Swedish Maritime Administration regulations stipulate how to
order pilotage, how the pilotage service is obtained and the fees
for the pilotage services. Swedish fairways designated as pilotage
fairways are also listed, as well as their respective boarding
areas.
The Swedish Maritime Administration is the authority determining
which fairways are to be defined as designated pilotage
fairways.
You can read more about the Swedish pilotage services and ordering
of pilotage on the Swedish Maritime Administration's website.
Swedish deep-sea pilotage
The Swedish Maritime Administration offers deep-sea pilotage
service in the Baltic Sea area including the Kattegat. Read more
about deep-sea pilotage in this brochure.
Information on designated pilotage fairways
To clarify the provisions in TSFS 2009:123 and in SJÖFS
2009:24, supplementary information is given in PDF format on the
right-hand side of this page under DOCUMENTS.
The PDF files are structured according to the traffic areas of the
Swedish Maritime Administration:
The information shows the positions of the valid pilotage lines
inserted in charts for each designated pilotage fairway. Also shown
are the limits for compulsory pilotage in each fairway as well as
the respective boarding areas.