Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

voluntary pilot

Maritime law. A ship pilot who controls a ship with the permission of the vessel's owner. ( The vessel's owner is personally liable for damage resulting from a collision caused by a voluntary pilot. Cf. COMPULSORY PILOT. "If a vessel is in the hands of a harbor pilot at the time of the collision, the question arises whether the fault of the pilot is imputed to the vessel owner or operator. American law draws an unwarranted distinction between the voluntary pilot,' who is taken on voluntarily, and the compulsory pilot,' who is mandated by a statute or local regulation. The voluntary pilot is considered to be the same as any crew member, and his fault is fully attributable to the vessel owner. A compulsory pilot's fault, however, cannot be imputed to th