Pilotage Requirements

It sounds like he has/is running a 75' Lazzara lsx with those dimensions.

This is outside my scope Ken, and I DK about the upcomming summer, but I can tell you that the only time I'vr ever seen pilots in LIS were to supervise offloading of fuel at Tosco and Northport, and a pilot stayed on board with a fuel tanker for the trip up to Bridgeport. He was picked up at Tosco (Riverhead). Don't recall ever seeing them on private yachts. This info goes back a few years.

N.Y. NAV. LAW § 89-b : NY Code - Section 89-B: Pilotage on Long Island Sound and Block Island Sound; rates

1. Every foreign vessel and every American vessel under register
transiting the New York state waters of Long Island Sound or Block
Island Sound east of Execution Rocks or Sands Point, and any such
vessels entering or departing from any port situated on the New York
state waters of Long Island Sound east of Execution Rocks or Sands
Point, shall take a Long Island-Block Island Sound pilot licensed under
the authority of this article. Every foreign vessel and every American
vessel under register transiting the New York state waters of Long
Island Sound or Block Island Sound east of a line running southeasterly
from the mouth of the Byram River at the New York-Connecticut boundary
to Oak Neck Point on Long Island shall take a pilot licensed under the
authority of this article or the laws of any other state having
concurrent jurisdiction over these waters. Whenever the services of such
a pilot are refused, the master, owners or consignees shall pay pilotage
as if one had been employed. The pilotage authorized to be collected
whenever a pilot shall be refused by a vessel shall be sued for and
recovered in the name of the pilot tendering such service. Such
pilotage, when recovered, shall belong to and may be retained by such
pilot for his own benefit and use.
2. It shall be unlawful for any person not licensed as a Long
Island-Block Island Sound pilot under this article to pilot or to offer
to pilot any foreign vessel or any American vessel sailing under
register transiting the New York state waters of Long Island Sound or
Block Island Sound east of Execution Rocks or Sands Point including any
such vessel entering or departing from any port situated on the New York
state waters of Long Island Sound east of Execution Rocks or Sands
Point, and it shall likewise be unlawful for any master or person on
board a tug or towboat to tow such a vessel transiting the New York
state waters of Long Island Sound or Block Island Sound east of
Execution Rocks or Sands Point including any such vessel entering or
departing from any port situated on the New York state waters of Long
Island Sound east of Execution Rocks or Sands Point unless such vessel
shall have on board a Long Island-Block Island Sound pilot licensed
under this article. It shall be unlawful for any person not licensed as
a Long Island-Block Island Sound pilot under this article or under the
laws of any other state having concurrent jurisdiction to pilot or to
offer to pilot any foreign vessel or any American vessel under register
transiting the New York state waters of Long Island Sound and Block
Island Sound east of a line running southeasterly from the mouth of the
Byram River at the New York-Connecticut boundary to Oak Neck Point on
Long Island.
3. Violation of subdivision two of this section shall be a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or by
imprisonment not exceeding sixty days. Any person employing such an
unlicensed person to act as pilot shall forfeit and pay the sum of one
hundred dollars to the board of commissioners of pilots.
4. (a) Every foreign vessel and every American vessel under register
transiting the New York state waters of Long Island Sound or Block
Island Sound east of Execution Rocks or Sands Point including any such
vessel entering or departing from any port situated on the New York
state waters of Long Island Sound east of Execution Rocks and Sands
Point shall be subject to pilotage fees, at the rates hereinafter
specified. Whenever the services of such a pilot are refused, the
master, owners or consignees shall pay pilotage as if one had been
employed. Such pilotage fees may be sued for and recovered in the name
of such pilot and may be retained by him for his own use and benefit. If
such pilot at the request of the master, owners, consignees or agent of

any vessel transiting the New York state waters of Long Island Sound or
Block Island Sound east of Execution Rocks or Sands Point anchors or
moors such vessel at any place on the waters of Long Island Sound or
Block Island Sound east of Execution Rocks or Sands Point, or if such
vessel be detained at quarantine, the same pilotage fees shall be
payable and the pilot entitled to his discharge.
(b) The following scale of charges shall be applicable:
(1) Upon the effective date of this paragraph and thereafter:
All vessels shall pay seven dollars per pilotage unit; upon one year
after the effective date of a chapter of the laws of two thousand seven
that amended this subparagraph and thereafter, all vessels shall pay
seven dollars and forty-two cents per pilotage unit; and, upon two years
after the effective date of a chapter of the laws of two thousand seven
that amended this subparagraph and thereafter, all vessels shall pay
seven dollars and eighty-seven cents per pilotage unit.
(2) A minimum charge calculated on one hundred fifty pilotage units
shall apply to vessels of less than one hundred fifty units of
measurement. A maximum charge calculated on five hundred pilotage units
shall apply to vessels of more than five hundred units of measurement.
(3) Pilotage units, as used in this subdivision, shall be determined
by multiplying the overall length of the vessel by the extreme breadth
by the depth to the uppermost continuous deck and dividing the total by
ten thousand, as expressed in the following formula:

Overall length X extreme breadth X depth
________________________________________________
10,000
equals pilotage units

(4) After entering Long Island Sound or Block Island Sound or before
departing therefrom, all vessels piloted for less than twenty-five miles
shall pay a transporting charge equal to two-thirds of the statutory
rate for registered vessels.
(5) A pilot detained on board a vessel at anchor or detained on board
a vessel at berth for more than two hours shall be paid at the rate of
twenty-five dollars per hour or fraction thereof.
(6) A pilot carried off on board a vessel by reason of bad weather or
any other cause shall be paid two hundred dollars per day during the
time of his detention. He shall also be awarded first class return
transportation at the earliest possible time.
(c) Definitions. "Overall length" is the distance between the forward
and after extremities of the vessel.
"Extreme breadth" is the maximum breadth to the outside of the shell
plating of the vessel.
"Depth" is the vertical distance at amidships from the top of the keel
plate to the uppermost continuous deck, fore and aft, and which extends
to the sides of the vessel. The continuity of a deck shall not be
considered to be affected by the existence of openings, including but
not limited to tonnage openings, engine spaces, or a step in the deck.
All measurements shall be in feet and inches (U.S.).
The board of commissioners of pilots shall be the sole arbiter with
respect to a question concerning these definitions. The decision by the
board shall be final.
(d) The measurements of overall length, extreme breadth, and depth as
previously defined, shall be made available to the pilot by the master
or his agent for the computation of pilotage fees. Failure to provide
the measurements so required shall subject the vessel to the maximum
pilotage charge.

5. The board of commissioners of pilots is hereby authorized to
execute an agreement with the appropriate state pilotage authority of
any state for establishment of a rotation system for the assignment of
pilots for the conduct of vessels in the ports and waters of the state,
including the waters of Long Island Sound.

Hi Ken was good to see you in Halifax last month
Thought you would like to see this
We only had four big yachts up the Welland Canal this year that require pilots.
The cost from St Lawrence River through Seaway to Port Huron is approx $ 48,000 one way .
It cost $ 11,000 just to go down Lake Erie
When you get to Port Huron and stay in American waters you do not require Pilots


The Coast Guard proposes to increase the overall cost of U.S. Great Lakes pilotage in 2023 compared to 2022. Specifically, the agency seeks to generate $37,022,395 in revenue in 2023, compared to its target of $32,486,995 in 2022 – an increase of $4.535 million. This 14 percent increase is attributed to inflation and four new pilots being added. In 2023, the Coast Guard is proposing a total workforce of 55 fully registered U.S. pilots and seven apprentice pilots.

The Coast Guard will be increasing individual pilot compensation from the current level of $399,266 annually to a new high of $422,336 annually.

The recent history of pilotage cost increases is detailed below:

Year / Pilot numbers / Estimated cost / Change over year

2014 / 36 / $12,889,868

2015 / 36 / $15,451,455 / plus 20 percent over 2014

2016 / 37 / $19,103,678 / plus 24 percent over 2015

2017 / 45 / $22,326,381 / plus 14 percent over 2016

2018 / 49 / $25,156,442 / plus 12.7 percent over 2017

2019 / 51 / $27,988,185 / plus 11.3 percent over 2018

2020 / 52 / $28,268,030 / plus 1 percent over 2019

2021 / 55 / $30,332,652 / plus 4 percent over 2020

2022 / 56 / $32,486,995 / plus 12 percent over 2021

2023 / 55 / $37,022,395 / plus 14 percent over 2022

It is important to remember that the Coast Guard’s annual rate setting process is a hypothetical exercise. It seeks to estimate the overall revenue and hourly charges necessary to operate the three U.S. pilot associations. Real-world revenue generation will be impacted by traffic levels and business trends, which sometimes vary from the Coast Guard’s estimates.

The American Great Lakes Ports Association (AGLPA) has historically had a strong interest in both the cost and reliability of Great Lakes pilotage services due to its impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of Seaway commerce. AGLPA will be submitting comments on this proposed rule in coordination with other allied industry stakeholders.

To view a copy of the Federal Register notice, click here.

– American Great Lakes Ports Association

Canadian freighters do not need pilots, American freighters do not need pilots after the Captain has made fifteen trips through Seaway, they only get about two or three American ships a year through Seaway.