Pilotage service state company to be established this autumn, official says
State pilotage service in the form of a federal government institution (FSI) is planned to be created in the autumn of 2011, a Transport Ministry official said Thursday.
“This early autumn, probably, we will have the FSI,” Russian Deputy Transport Minister Viktor Olersky told reporters at the International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg.
"We plan to allocate this function (pilotage service - PN) from Rosmorport. As of now, the Russian Govt draft resolution on the establishment of the enterprise is at the Ministry of Transport for approval. Next week we will submit the document for approval to other federal executive bodies ", Mr. Olersky was quoted as saying.
Currently, the service is required at 60 Russian ports, the official said. Private pilots companies provide pilotage service only at 9 ports. At other ports the service is being provided by Rosmorport’s pilots as the private firms consider the business unprofitable at those ports.
