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The Coast Guard announced in the Federal Register new rates for the 2017 shipping season for pilotage services on the Great Lakes.

The final rule amends the Coast Guard’s Great Lakes pilotage regulations by revising the current methodology by which the Coast Guard sets base rates for U.S. pilotage service on the Great Lakes, as well as revises the pilotage rates for the remaining portion of the 2017 shipping season. The new methodology adjusts target pilot compensation by inflation, incorporates revenue derived from weighting factor charges into the ratemaking model, and eliminates the provision that the hourly pilotage rate for designated waters could not rise above twice the rate for undesignated waters. The Coast Guard believes that the new methodology will continue to encourage pilot retention, ensure safe, efficient, and reliable pilotage services on the Great Lakes, and provide adequate funds to upgrade and maintain infrastructure.

Based on updated financial information, increased pilot compensation, the new weighting factor calculations, and other changes to the ratemaking methodology, the revised Great Lakes pilotage rates are being lowered in most areas. The Coast Guard believes that this is a needed correction to better align projected revenues with the pilot associations’ actual collections, as evidence shows that pilotage revenue significantly exceeded what was projected in 2016, even factoring in above-average traffic.

For full information, read the Final Rule in the Federal Register.

Changes in Pilotage Rates

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.