Oh, so the field is ripe for disruption by a startup that will jettison all that, replace it with arbitrary anti-customer terms under a thin layer of technology, and make bank! /s
While I don't work on container ships, every time a pilot comes onboard our vessel (87m) we maintain control. The pilot provides guidance and assistance in navigation, but the captain or a bridge officer (depending on watch) is in control of the vessel.
I think liability is removed from the pilots because ultimately the ships captain is responsible for the ship, and the officer on watch is actually in control.
I would have assumed that the captain is the master of the ship, and the pilot is there to provide guidance.
I would have guessed that if the pilot provides guidance that places the ship at risk the master is then responsible if he follows the advice without recognizing the danger.
Also does the local pilot bear any responsibility?
>Ever Forward ran aground on March 13 outside the Craighill shipping channel in Chesapeake Bay as it departed the Port of Baltimore with a pilot on board.
From another article...
>The Bay pilot aboard had control of the ship at the time it ran aground. Investigators are still looking at whether it was a mechanical issue or operator error that caused it to leave the channel.