The public service mission, which by definition should be a service organised in the general interest, is supported by case law and by the qualification of ‘public pilotage service’ affirmed by the Conseil d’Etat on 2 June 1972: ‘It is also the responsibility of the administrative authority, in order to ensure the policing of traffic in ports, and insofar as the safety of traffic so requires, to make the right of ships to travel in ports subject to the possession of a special licence by their captain or to the use of the public pilotage service’.
More recently, in 1988, Robert Rézenthel described marine pilotage as ‘an activity of general interest’. Although this activity is little known to the general public, it should be understood more broadly as an activity carried out in the interest of all, and which benefits the population in a beneficial way.
Within the European Union, maritime pilots, who are the only port personnel to board ships ‘en route’, are required to report to the port of call if the ships present a risk to the environment, safety or port security.
If this is the case, warnings can be issued by the pilots, and are passed on to the authorities, inevitably leading the pilots to work in the interests of all. This mission of general interest could not exist without the absolute objectivity of the pilots in the control of the ships (controls which will be transmitted to the Centre of Safety of the Ships of the countries of Europe, and will feed data bases).