8. Pilots.—
There are port and sea pilots, the latter being a name for those of her officers who navigate the ship at sea and the former meaning those who take the ship in and out of harbor. Port or coast pilots are a class by themselves, exercising an office of great importance, and usually regulated by law. This is the class referred to in U. S. Comp. St. 1916, § 7981, where it is enacted that "until further provision is made by Congress, all pilots in the bays, inlets, rivers, harbors, and ports of the United States shall continue to be regulated in conformity with the existing laws of the States respectively wherein such pilots may be, or with such laws as the States may respectively enact for the purpose." The former class, or sea pilots, are dealt with by Congress in §§ 8204, 8205, 8206, 8207, 8208, etc., of the same volume. The several states may, therefore, regulate and license port pilots, that is, the class whose employment is to guide vessels in and out of their respective ports. They may make it a criminal offense for a pilot not duly qualified under their laws to take a vessel through their waters and make all requisite provisions in regard to qualifications, fees and licenses, so long as Congress refrains from further legislation on the subject. Most of the States on the seaboard have such statutes, different somewhat in detail but generally similar in effect. Ships are not absolutely bound to accept the services of such pilots but must pay their fees, in whole or in part, if services are tendered and declined.
9. Duties.—
The pilot is the servant of the owner, if voluntarily employed, otherwise not. Like other persons, he is answerable for any damage he may cause by negligence or default. Occupying a quasi-public position and the ship not being free to decline his services, it is his duty to render his services, when requested, to the best of his ability. If he refuses, he may be liable both civilly and criminally. The ancient sea-laws were stringent in this regard; the Laws of Oléron, for example, provide that if disaster is sustained by the ignorance of the pilot, he shall be obliged to make full satisfaction therefor, and, if he has not wherewith to make satisfaction, the master, or any one of the mariners or merchants may cut off his head and shall not be bound to answer for it. When a pilot takes charge of a vessel at sea, it is his duty to stay by her, unless discharged, until she reaches her destination or some place of safety. He is held to be able to anticipate the action of the wind and sea on boats in his charge. He must be thoroughly familiar with the topography and character of the waters for which he offers his services, and keep acquainted with all changes therein, both as to fixed and temporary landmarks and also as to the character of the bottom and presence of temporary obstructions therein.
10. Authority.—
While a pilot is on board he has absolute and exclusive authority in the absence of the master, and, probably, ranks the master when he is present. The authorities are not plain or satisfactory on this point, but there ought not to be any divided authority, particularly in such navigation as that for which the law requires the employment of a pilot. Unless the master retains, or reassumes, charge of the ship, the pilot has exclusive control and all are bound to obey his orders; he is an officer of the ship within the meaning of the statutes in regard to revolts and mutinies. But the master's authority is not annulled and it would be his duty to interfere in case of gross ignorance or palpable mistake on the part of the pilot.
Thus, in the case of the China, 7 Wall. 53, where the pilot was employed under a compulsory pilot law, the Court said:
It is the duty of the master to interfere in cases of the pilot's intoxication or manifest incapacity, in cases of danger which he does not foresee, and in all cases of great necessity. The master has the same power to displace the pilot that he has to remove any subordinate officer of the vessel. He may exercise it or not, according to his discretion.
In Ralli v. Troop, 157 U. S. 386, Justice Gray said: