The qualifications for entrance into the State pilot system are rigorous.  Apprentice pilots require at least five years in the pilot training program.  Having assumed the conn of a vessel, the State pilot bears enormous professional responsibility for bringing it safely into port.  State licensed pilots are kept very busy with over 16,000 assignments on average each year.  Compulsory State pilotage has kept our coasts and ports safe.  No subsidies are received nor are any tax revenues used by New York State pilots.  Pilotage fees are established by the legislature for vessel entry into and departure from our ports, and by the Board of Commissioners for associated services.

 In 1995, the Board initiated, and New York State pilots have participated in an Advanced Pilot Training Program, to ensure that New York State pilots are the best trained, equipped, and informed professionals in the nation. The Board has captioned this program “Commitment to Excellence. “ The training program, which is regularly reviewed and upgraded, provides continuing education seminars, including for example:

• Bridge Resource management at the Marine Institute of Technology and Graduate School, with Board approved curriculum
   

• Radar Systems  Theory and Use
   

• Advanced Training Seminar: Ship Simulation Courses, including Emergency Ship Handling, and training at specialized facilities such as SUNY Maritime College, Fort Schuyler, The United States Merchant Marine Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Marine Safety, Inc. at Newport, SOGREAH at Grenoble, France, The Manned Ship Model School at Southampton, England and the United States Army Corps of Engineers Simulation Facility in Vicksburg, Mississippi
   

• Institute for Large Ship Handling in Grenoble, France (SOGREAH).
   

• The Manned Ship Model School in Ilawa, Poland. 

• Massachusetts Maritime Academy Ship Simulator School.
   

• ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display) and SATNAV (Satellite Navigation) GPS (Global Positioning System) electronic information systems.  AIS (Automatic Identification System) electronic information and positioning systems.  All State pilots have been trained and certified in the use of this equipment.
   

• International Maritime Organization (IMO), and International Standards Organization (ISO), internationally recognized quality assurance programs.
   
• Selected case histories and studies of maritime accidents and casualties
   
• Master-pilot exchange (MPX) system and protocols.
   
• Human Factors in Marine Operations
   
• Inter-agency cooperation and training with USCG and other maritime safety agencies.
   

• The National Aeronautics and Space Agency - Ames Research Institute Study on Pilot Fatigue

• Root - Cause Analysis in Marine Casualties
   

• Tractor tug and azimuth propulsion system training at MITAGS (Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies).
   

• Change of the Conn Policies and Procedures

The advanced pilot training program ensures that State licensed pilots maintain their high professional standards in the rapidly changing maritime industry. The courses focus on efficient use of personnel, communications, equipment, organizational development, and human as well as technical resources available on the bridge of a modern ship.  The advanced pilot training program is responsive to, and addresses the recommendations and/or rules of other safety agencies, such as the National Transportation Safety Board, The National Safety Council, Standards for the Training and Certification of Watch Officers, and the United States Coast Guard’s “Prevention Through People” program. The goal of the advanced pilot training program is to heighten communication levels and awareness of the various human and operational factors which affect their work, and their lives, in a State pilotage system, which operates twenty four hours a day in all weather conditions.