Ministry of Transportation has finalized and published on the website a new version of the draft Federal Law "On Amendments to the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation." The changes affect the activities of marine pilots.

Новой редакцией законопроекта предусмотрено, что лоцман является работником лоцманской организации, создаваемой в форме федерального бюджетного учреждения. The new version of the bill provides that a pilot is piloting an employee organization, created in the form of federal budget agencies. As previously reported SeaNews, in the previous version was laid down that the pilot organization should be created in the form of federal government agencies. This version of the bill not been coordinated in the Ministry of Economic Development and the Federal Antimonopoly Service.

State oversight of the pilot organization for the new law provides federal executive body for Transport Supervision (Rostransnadzor).

 The bill also regulates the responsibilities of the ship's captain and pilot the implementation of pilotage. In particular, the master has to check the pilot's license pilot. The pilot has the right without the consent of the ship's captain to stop pilotage before the ship is anchored, moored in a safe place, derived in the sea or transferred to another posting under the pilot.

In the areas of compulsory pilotage captain has no right to sail without pilotage, except if the vessel belongs to the category of vessels that are exempt from compulsory pilotage, the master or the right to navigate without pilotage.