History

The earliest indication of the existence of marine pilots in Amsterdam can be found in decrees dating from the beginning of the 15th century. These form the basis of the maritime laws pertaining to sea trade in and around the Zuiderzee.

What follows is an historical overview from the past to the present.

From 1000 to 1300

1050 Fishermen start piloting ships
1100 Maritime law of Oleron: rights and duties of pilots
1200 Maritime law of Visby

From 1300 to 1600

1350 The verdict of Damme
1551 The first pilot service to Amsterdam
1563 Compulsory piloting established by Philips II
1618 Guild of maritime pilots

The history of the pilot services in Amsterdam
The earliest indication of the existence of marine pilots in Amsterdam can be found in decrees dating from the beginning of the 15th century. These form the basis of the maritime laws pertaining to sea trade in and around the Zuiderzee. A number of the services to be rendered, concerning the “leitsage”, were established in some of these articles. Article 24, for example, states: "wat scepen comen in 't Vlije of in 't Mairsdiep van ommelant ende hier wesen willen ende dat men dair een leitsage wint, 't scip ende guet hier op te brenghen, des sel die scipheren den leitsage die cost gheven ende die coeplude sullen die leitsage loenen van horen guede.". 1) The leitsage was a fisherman whose services could be called upon to show trade ships to a safe anchorage for overnight stays or to take them safely to their destination, for which he would have been paid. It is impossible to gauge the extent of his expertise in this field. However, he would have been well aware of the consequences of not fulfilling his services. Firstly, he would not be paid and secondly, according to the law of the time, he could be killed if he stranded the ship or caused any damages! 2) The pilots foresaw the necessity of the service that they provided.

As a consequence, a number of fishermen form the Wadden islands and coastal villages in North Holland would have had ‘a nice little earner’ thanks to increased trade and shipping.

Sources:
1) Van leitsage tot loods. A.M. Overwater.
2) The “Lodeman”, if he lost a ship by default, was to be taken to the windlass and there beheaded by the crew, and the crew were not to be answerable to any judge, because the "Lodeman" had committed high treason against his undertaking of pilotage (Roles d'Oleron adopted by England).

In 1630, a regulation stating that it was compulsory for ships that had loaded general cargo in Amsterdam to use pilots from the “Loodmans-gilde”, was declared by the town council. A second regulation stipulated the pilot fees. In 1632, another regulation appeared stating that there was to be another set of rules applicable to river pilots only.

In 1666, a new regulation was declared stating that "niet en wert naegekomen als hear E.E. goede meeninghe wel is gheweest, dat oock desehe met eenige nodige Articulen wel diende te worden gheamplieert, haer E. ordonneren en staruëren bij desen".

Another important factor concerning these developments was that accurate maps of the area did not exist at the time. As a result, Mediterranean sailors, such as the Italians and Catalonians, did not dare to sail any further north than London or Bruges. The coastline from Holland to Jutland on their nautical maps was represented by a straight line. It was only in the second half of the 15th century that the first information concerning the Dutch coastline became available (from Getekende Land by H. Lambooy).

From 1800 to 1900

1813 Pilotage came under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence who, in 1835, issued general conditions for pilotage at sea.
1859 The Dutch government had control over the pilot monopoly
1876 The ‘Stad Breda’ under the command of Captain G. Schel, piloted on the Noordzeekanaal
1888 The pilots association ‘Recht door Zee’ was set up.

The General Regulations for the sea pilots’ service from 1835
The duties of pilots were established in article 70 stating that all ships that wished to sail in and out of ports must take a pilot onboard and pay for the service. This has remained more or less the same, since then; "geene personen zullen tot den zeeloodsdienst worden aangestelt, dan kloecke wakkere zeelieden van onberispelijk gedrag". "Niet ouder dan 45 en niet beneden den leeftijd van 25 jaren, kunnende lezen en schrijven en verstaande de eerste gronden van de rekenkunst hebbend een of meer reizen gedaan op een raschip, doch tenminste twaalf maanden". An exam had to be taken and the person in question had to have three years experience at sea in order to become a member of the pilot service. Knowledge of currents, ground, banks and characteristic features, the operation and manoeuvring of large sailing ships was a must. After the exam, four test voyages had to be made with a deep draught vessel. After swearing the oath, the pupil was appointed as emergency help and presented with a pilot badge: silver for a normal or fixed service and a copper one for an extraordinary service.

Pilot service after the opening of the Noordzeekanaal In anticipation of the opening of the Noordzeekanaal in 1875, a number of measures were taken. Until the arrival of the cutters, destined for coastal services, in March of 1877, the Egmonder would provide pilotage for the new port. A ‘schokker’ (an old fashioned sailing vessel), commanded by skipper 2nd class H. Schol, provided the service of retrieving the pilot. Furthermore, 250 guilders was made available to transform pilot boat nr.3 into an overnight boat for the needs of pilots from Amsterdam and Den Helder. In groups, these pilots had to learn how to sail in and out of the port entrance with ease. “Especially with regards to sailing into port”, explained inspector Spanjaard from Willemsoord, “because of the strong current that runs past the port, some practice is necessary.”

In the spring of 1867, when a tug from Goedkoop towed three loggers through the brand new Noordzeekanaal, a new area of work was opened up to pilots of the 3rd district that brought a number of changes.

The state pilot service was abolished
The laws of 1859 pertaining to pilots were changed in 1875. With regards to the 3rd district, this meant that:

Two pilot boats were to be destined for the English Channel
One of which continuously crossed the two mile stretch between the lighthouses of Dungeness
Four pilot boats crossing on the North Sea where:
- one was level with Westgat
- one was level with Schulpengat
- one was level with IJmuiden-Egmond
- one was level with IJmuiden-Zandvoort

These were all cutters, their homeport being Den Helder. IJmuiden was undoubtedly, Amsterdam’s outport. The Dungeness and Texel cutters of the 3rd district functioned as the foremost pilot stations providing services for IJmuiden. Port pilots were stationed in IJmuiden, itself. They replaced these sea pilots at the locks and, from there, brought ships to their loading or unloading docks in the Noordzeekanaal area.

The pilots association “Recht door Zee”
In 1888, the sea pilots in Den Helder set up the pilots association “Recht door Zee”. Its main purpose was to increase the solidarity and camaraderie between the pilots. The committee immediately took upon itself the task of creating decent accommodation for pilots for the duration of their stay ashore after their voyages, both for those from Den Helder and those on the coastal cutters who provided services to IJmuiden. The port pilots of Amsterdam and IJmuiden, also made use of these facilities.

With the hand out of bonds, the necessary money was raised to enable the building of the pilots’ club house, “Recht door Zee”, on the IJmuiden canal dike. This opened in 1894 and provided lodgings and meals, as well as being a place where the committee aired views and grievances on behalf of the pilot corps. The affaire Noordberg became a prominent topic of discussion, for example. Noordberg was the secretary of “Recht door Zee” at the time and was punished for giving a helm order in the ‘old style’.

The old helm orders were based on the movement of the helm. To cause the ship to turn in a starboard direction, the command of ‘Port helm’ was given. Of course, after the introduction of the steering wheel, this was a foolish order!

This is how, in 1897, the incoming English S.S. Obi’s captain could claim, in a statement, that the ship continued to move to port. Additionally, the grounding of the English steamer Dundee whilst sailing in the Schulpengat in the same year, was a mistake and caused by turning the wheel to port, when it should have been starboard.

From 1900 to the present day

1920 Pilots became civil servants. In 1980 they came under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management
1988 Loodswezen becomes independent
1992 Cuts in pilot fees
1993 Introduction of a 24 hour helicopter service
1994 Introduction of the jet-driven tender
1994 Heli-port IJmuiden operational
1996 Heli-port Maasvlakte operational
1996 Frissen Commission, 1998 Brokx Commision
1998 Government chooses a free market structure for Loodswezen . 1998 Adjusting strategy from Loodswezen
1999 Policy proposal for market system from The Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management
2000 Hearing policy proposal in Parliament, 2001 Elaboration of policy proposal
2001 February; new pilot helicopter operational
2001 May: two jet-driven tenders operational in Amsterdam-IJmond.