Marc Gregoire has received a boat load of recommendations for steering marine pilotage in Canada into the 21st Century with shipowners and shippers looking for efficiencies that will reduce the cost of the service.Gregoire is the Chairman of the pilotage review launched last year after the 2016 Canada Transportation Act review recommended changes to the national pilotage system. They were amalgamating the four pilotage authorities and studying their governance as well as reviewing the areas now designated as requiring compulsory pilotage every three to five years. These reviews should take into consideration changes in traffic, technology and best practises.The maritime industry has changed a great deal since the Pilotage Act was passed in 1972 although some changes have been implemented since then. Meanwhile ships now are required by international convention to carry electronic navigation equipment, which the industry argue greatly reduces the areas where pilots are required.A 1999 review by the Canadian Transportation Agency made 21 recommendations on pilotage risk assessments, waivers, certification, training, licensing, consultations, and reporting. Since then there have been other organizational changes but nothing that addressed the cost or the areas requiring compulsory pilotage.Gregoire conducted 15 in-depth meetings across the country last year as well as roundtable discussions, which attracted about 100 participants from across the maritime sector. As well, he has received 26 hefty submissions on the future of pilotage from pilot organizations, shipowners, shippers and ports.Various sources say his report will be submitted to Transport Minister Marc Garneau in April. Its public release will come later.His mandate from the minister is to focus on tariffs, service delivery, governance, and dispute resolution to ensure safe, efficient and environmentally responsible marine pilotage services into the future.Currently 99 per cent of pilotage assignments are completed safely, Transport Canada said.Mike Broad, President of the Shipping Federation of Canada, said the industry hopes changes are made to reduce the cost of pilotage through greater efficiencies and expanded use of technology. Pilotage amounts to 40 per cent of the cost of sailing in Canadian waters.An often sited example of pilotage costs is $158,000 for a ship to sail from the Gulf of the St. Lawrence to Thunder Bay and back out again. “It's an expensive and costly item for the industry,” Broad said.A background document issued by Gregoire to the organizations interested in the review says, “The 2016 Canada Transportation Act Review estimated that pilotage fees represent between 20% and 25% of the marine fees vessels pay in Canada. This has been reasonably consistent over the past 10 years.”The fees are the second highest cost after berthing and other harbour charges.Although no one proposes an end to marine pilotage, a common theme from shipping organizations is reflected in a joint brief to Gregoire from Fednav and Desgagnes. It said, “The current structure has led to a pilotage system that is unable to control costs or consistently provide users with the level of service they require in a highly competitive marine transportation economy.“We are in this situation because the Pilotage Act does not provide adequate checks and balances to counteract the effects of the monopoly structure under which the pilotage system operates.”The pilotage authorities should focus “on the need to provide a safe and efficient pilotage service rather than to merely achieve financial self-sufficiency,” the companies said in outlining a series of technical and governance changes to the pilotage system.They include a “greater focus on the identification and introduction of new technologies that will support safe and efficient pilotage services.”The Chamber of Shipping's recommendations said pilotage authorities should stick to regulatory and operational decisions on pilotage only. A National Pilotage Board should be created “to drive standards and consistency across the regions.”Appointments to pilotage boards should be subject to federal conflict of interest guidelines and pilotage dispatchers should work Canadian Coast Guard Marine Communications Traffic Service offices to improve situational awareness, it added.The limitation for liability for pilots should be increased from the current $1,000 and a central Pilotage Authority or Transport Canada should establish pilot entry, certification and training requirements. In its brief, the Shipping Federation said the pilotage system “is unable to control costs or consistently provide users with the level of service they require in a highly competitive marine transportation economy. We are in this situation because the Pilotage Act does not provide adequate checks and balances to counteract the effects of the monopoly structure under which the pilotage system operates.”Pilot compensation has increased between 26 percent and 55 percent during the last decade, ShipFed said.The pilotage authorities “have been constrained in their ability to provide the kind of service that users need unless service providers have been prepared to act as willing partners in this respect. The absence of such willingness with regard to a number of key service areas has made it difficult to modernize and upgrade the service or to develop cost efficiencies.”The Chamber of Marine Commerce called for significant changes to the Pilotage Act and its regulatory framework to ensure “a modern and Competitive transportation network for Canada's future. In the face of ever evolving technology and in light of very competitive global mark, it is essential that this change occur earlier rather than later while ensuring marine transportation remains safe.”The system has to be guided by governance, regulations and service delivery objectives that are in-line with other marine policies, CMC said. There has to be “guiding principles for governance, regulation and service delivery against which decisions, outcomes and performance can be measured.”Changes are needed to “encourages viable, effective and economical marine transportation and commerce.” CMC also wants reviews of the Pilotage Act.Every five years and creation of a National Pilotage Authority with stakeholder representation on the Board of Directors, to standardize the delivery of pilotage across the country compared to the current situation of dealing with four quite different authorities. It would have Eastern and Western Operations Centres. The federal government should finance the transition to a single pilot service.In its brief to Gregoire, the Canadian Marine Pilots Association noted that “over the five-year period between 2012-2016, 99.92% of pilotage assignments took place without incident.” Combing their experience and the most advanced e-Navigation technology relevant to pilotage, the pilots' record is remarkable in light the growth in the size of ships entering Canadian waters, CMPA said.“While many factors play a role in this performance, including maintaining high standards for the licensing of pilots, no factor is more important than the framework established by the Pilotage Act by which pilots can exercise their best professional judgement free from commercial and competitive pressures.”It accused the shipping industry of putting forth “a false narrative” about the cost of the system. “Changes to pilotage requirements cannot be profit-driven; they must serve the higher purpose of safety and the public interest.“In 2016, pilotage costs, as measured by the revenues of the four pilotage authorities, amounted to $218 million, or a little more than $6 per Canadian. On the other hand, in 2017, for the first time, a study providing a cost-benefit analysis of pilotage services in Canada was realized, identifying benefits of $4.56 billion per year.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.