Please be advised that the Port of London Authority still requires all initial orders for pilotage services to be submitted as ‘hard-copy’.
The preferred format is as prescribed on the form ‘Notification of Requirements to London Port Co-ordination’, which replaces forms previously used from the ‘POLARIS Customer Information Guide’ and should be submitted by fax are available in both .pdf and .doc (Word document) file formats. We encourage its use to ensure that we are given concise and complete orders.
The form is also available from Pilotage Administration upon request. It prompts for all statutory information required, as detailed in the Admiralty List of Radio Signals. In addition, the form prompts for information pertinent to pilotage requirements.
Use of any other form is discouraged, although bespoke alternatives may be accepted if they conform to the expectations of information as per Notification of Requirements to London Port Co-ordination.
Telexed orders should be laid out so that the data given does not fall short of the requirement detailed above.
The PLA discourages submission of orders by email, as this technology has been proven less reliable than fax. In the event that email is chosen, we strongly recommend that submissions are accompanied by a request for a ‘read receipt’.
