EMPA welcomes the announcement that Danish Maritime Pilots and Danske Lodser have agreed to merge into a single, unified organisation: Lodsforeningen Danmark (Danish Maritime Pilots Association). This landmark agreement will bring all Danish maritime pilots under one collective framework and supports a stronger, more unified voice for the profession.
In a changing maritime environment, staying united and cohesive is essential to protect professionalism, and the future of pilotage services.
A celebration of a historic milestone for the Portuguese pilotage service!!!
On November 19, 2025, APIBARRA celebrated three decades of history with the 8th Conference, held at the Infante D. Henrique Auditorium, Port of Leixões (APDL). Under the theme “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, What Future?”
The European Maritime Pilots’ Association (EMPA) participated in the latest NEDSPA (North European Deep-Sea Pilots Association) meeting, held in Hull (UK), bringing together representatives from across Europe
EMPA - European Maritime Pilots' Association Secretary General Aileen Van Raemdonck was honoured to attend last week's ESPO (European Sea Ports Organisation) Award to celebrate inspiring port projects. This year's edition focused on initatives to attract more women to work in ports.
European Maritime Pilots' Association (EMPA) represented by its President Miguel Vieira de Castro had the privilege of meeting with the Board of Directors of the Spanish Maritime Pilots’ Association - Colegio Oficial Nacional de Prácticos de Puerto.
It was a great pleasure to attend the 28th Polish Maritime Pilots’ Congress in Szczecin today, representing EMPA – European Maritime Pilots’ Association.
During the opening ceremony, I had the opportunity to speak about Safety and Sustainability in Ports, highlighting EMPA’s collaborative approach to addressing current challenges and future tasks in European pilotage.
Today, the European Maritime Pilots' Association (EMPA), represented by President Miguel Vieira de Castro and Vice President & Chairman of the Training and Technical Committee Jose A. Pérez, is attending the Remote Pilotage Days 2025, hosted by Finnpilot Pilotage Oy Ltd in Helsinki .
This key event gathers experts from across Europe and beyond to discuss the future of remote pilotage, with a strong emphasis on digitalisation, remote operations, human factors, and regulatory frameworks.
While EMPA recognises the value of exploring new technologies, our position remains clear: comprehensive risk assessments and rigorous testing of remote pilotage systems are essential to identify potential risks and areas for improvement, ensuring that technological advancements do not compromise the high standards of navigational safety currently upheld by on-site pilots.
We were delighted to meet fellow pilots from Finland, Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Canada, as well as representatives from AMURA – Airam Rodriguez and Agata Polcwiartek, solution providers of EMPAsafe.
A special thanks to Tero Vainio and Finnpilot Pilotage Oy Ltd for their kind invitation and excellent organisation of this event.
"The Nordic Pilot associations held their annual Nordic Pilots' meeting in Copenhagen 29-30th of August 2025. Pilots from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland were accompanied by pilots from Estonia and Iceland! A very co-operative and good meeting about important pilotage matters. The Nordic Pilots' common wish is to see the suspended Baltic Pilotage Authorities Commissions (BPAC) meetings reactivated. These meetings between authorities and pilots were an excellent place to share information and ideas to improve the safety of shipping."
