2007-06-04
Every profession and service in the world was born out of a need. Since mankind began building ships and transporting cargo and passengers between ports, it has always been desirable for a ship to complete its voyage in safety. However, problems have arisen due to ships running aground or sinking as a result of collision, and the loss of ships, cargo, passengers and crew in narrow, shallow, shallow, bumpy and current waters when entering a port after crossing distant seas from the places they have loaded, or when leaving a port after loading, due to the lack of knowledge of the characteristics of the place.
In order to solve these problems and prevent damages, it was necessary that ships, when approaching and leaving the waters of a harbor, gulf, strait, river, surrounded by various dangers, should be managed by experienced sailors who knew all the features of that place very well.
This need has led to the emergence of “pilot captains”, “pilotage profession” and “pilotage services”.
From the writings in the Code of Hammurabi found in ancient Babylon, it is understood that the profession of pilotage dates back more than 4,000 years. The profession of pilotage, which has passed through centuries, has established its own rules and traditions today.
Nowadays, as the volume of world trade has gradually increased, the number of ships circulating in the world seas has increased, and the tonnage of the ships has also grown and grown due to the desire to carry more cargo at once. This has resulted in an increase in the density of maritime traffic. Both the increase in the density of maritime traffic and the inability of port structures to remain constant and expand due to their inability to change fast enough have left the ships, which are growing in size, with the problem and risk of maneuvering in narrower spaces.
On the other hand, the tonnage of these cargoes has increased as well as the increase in the types of hazardous materials in the cargoes carried by ships. All this has increased the risk of maritime accidents in places such as harbors, gulfs and straits, which are called waterways, as well as the possibility of environmental disasters in the event of an accident.
Accordingly, “Pilotage Services“, whose historical raison d’être was the protection of ships with their crews, passengers and cargoes, and in short “security“, has nowadays gained a great importance in ensuring the protection of the ENVIRONMENTwith its ports, coastal facilities and all its structures, with its inhabitants on land, sea and air.
