Pilotage is, in general, compulsory for masters on vessels with a length of 70 metres or breadth of 14 metres or more. Information about the liability to engage a pilot is given in the "Regulations Published by the Swedish Maritime Administration and General Guidelines regarding Pilotage" (SJÖFS 2008:6). In annex 1 of the regulation you will find information about the organisation of the Maritime Traffic Area.

In view of the change which has been implemented within the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA), where issues concerning regularization and standardization of fairways and issuing of pilot exemption certificates have been transfered to the Swedish Maritime Safety Inspectorate (SMSI), current regulations regarding pilotage have been revised.

The changes, that came into force on November 1, 2005, means principally, partly that issues concerning providing pilotage, the safety in connection with pilotage, lotspliktsgränser and decisions about pilot exemption certificates have been gathered in SMSI's regulations and general guidelines regarding pilotage and, partly, that issues concerning pilot request, pilotage rates and pilot exemption certificates have been gathered SMA's regulations regarding pilot fees.

The change of these regulations means a return to the time-frames and charge structure that applied before July 1, 2004 for order rates and order times in connection with pilot request.