PILOTAGE DE LA GIRONDE

What PILOTAGE DE LA GIRONDE does

Station de Pilotage de la Gironde (commercial name: "Pilotes BX") is the legally mandated maritime piloting organization for the Gironde estuary in southwestern France. Operating under a public-service mandate established by the Colbert Ordinance of 1681 and codified by the Law of March 28, 1928, the station provides compulsory navigation guidance to commercial vessels transiting from the open sea to Bordeaux on the Garonne River and downstream of Libourne on the Dordogne River. Its operating zone spans a 76-nautical-mile channel, of which 41 nautical miles are maintained as a dredged muddy fairway with monthly bathymetric control. Ship captains are legally required to take a local pilot aboard to safely navigate sandbanks, strong tidal currents, shallow areas, and fog conditions.

The station operates a purpose-built fleet for pilot transfers at sea: a Eurocopter EC 135 T2+ helicopter (used for approximately 85% of transfers and roughly 1,000 annual winching operations, capable of operating in winds up to 50 knots) and four high-speed patrol boats (ORCA, QUINOA, MONA, and the multipurpose Eider added in 2018). It maintains a TRANSAS NAVITRAINER 5000 maneuvering simulator (acquired 2012 with co-financing from Bordeaux Métropole and Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux, refreshed 2019) for procedure validation, pilot training, and quay dimension modeling, and a RADAR assistance system providing remote navigation support in favorable weather. The organization has been ISO 9001-certified since the quality approach adopted in 2004, renewed to ISO 9001:2015 by LRQA in June 2018. It is staffed by 21 active pilots (organized within the Syndicat professionnel des pilotes maritimes) and 25 salaried staff across the Bassens administrative headquarters and a logistics base at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, with a helicopter hangar at Soulac.

Revenue is generated via regulated transaction-based service fees charged to vessel operators; disclosed annual revenue is €7,000,000 (FY2019 reference). The customer mix spans oil tankers, LNG/gas carriers, cargo and container vessels (e.g., Prigipos at 230m), cruise liners (Crystal Serenity/Symphony, Seabourn Sojourn, Regent Seven Seas Navigator/Mariner, Hapag-Lloyd Europa, Radisson Diamon, Renaissance 8, Le Mermoz), and specialized project cargo including Airbus A380 components transiting from the sea to Langon. The station services roughly 1,500 ship transits per year with an average 6-hour channel transit time, and reports no venture capital, private equity, parent company, or external investor involvement.

Name

PILOTAGE DE LA GIRONDE

Legal name

Station de Pilotage de la Gironde

Website

https://pilotagegironde.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Station de Pilotage de la Gironde provides legally mandated maritime piloting services for vessels transiting the Gironde estuary in France, serving commercial shipping, cruise liners, and project cargo through helicopters and patrol boats under a state-granted monopoly.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Pilotage Services

NAICS

Navigational Services to Shipping (488330), Navigational Services to Shipping (48833), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Harbor Pilots (Compulsory Pilotage) (TLAHAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

River & Inland Waterway Pilots (TLAHAGAB), Pilot Boat / Pilot Transfer Services (Pilot Launch Operations) (TLAHAGAH), Pilot Training, Certification & Medical/Fitness Services (TLAHAGAI), Pilotage Risk Management & Simulation Services (BRM, Simulator Training, Incident Analysis) (TLAHAGAJ)

Keywords

• Maritime ship piloting
• Estuarine navigation services
• Harbor pilotage
• Pilot transfer operations
• Compulsory vessel pilotage

Headquarters

HQ city

Bassens

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ship Piloting Services: Compulsory maritime piloting services for vessels transiting the Gironde estuary from the open sea to Bordeaux and Libourne. Revenue is generated through service fees charged to vessel operators for professional navigation guidance, pilot boarding services, and maneuvering assistance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Station de Pilotage de la Gironde provides compulsory maritime piloting services for commercial vessels transiting the Gironde estuary from the open sea to Bordeaux on the Garonne River and downstream of Libourne on the Dordogne. Services include pilot boarding via helicopter winching or high-speed launch boats, RADAR-assisted remote navigation guidance, maneuvering assistance for cruise ships and large cargo, and pilot training on a full-mission simulator. The station operates under a state-mandated monopoly regulated by French law (March 28, 1928).

Product overview

Station de Pilotage de la Gironde provides maritime pilotage services for ships navigating the Gironde estuary from offshore to Bordeaux on the Garonne River and downstream to Libourne on the Dordogne. The service operates a fleet of four launch boats (ORCA, QUINOA, EIDER, MONA) for pilot transfers, a Eurocopter EC 135 T2+ helicopter for offshore winching operations (approximately 1,000 per year), a RADAR assistance system for weather-permitting navigation support, and a TRANSAS NAVITRAINER 5000 simulator for training and procedure development. The station manages 21 active pilots and 25 staff members across administrative headquarters in Bassens and a logistics base at Le Verdon-sur-Mer.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maritime Ship Piloting Service Compulsory pilotage service for commercial vessels transiting the Gironde estuary from the open sea to Bordeaux on the Garonne River and downstream of Libourne on the Dordogne River. Pilots are legally mandated to board under French law (Law of 28 March 1928) and provide professional navigation guidance, channel transit support, and maneuvering assistance across the 76-nautical-mile estuary. Handles approximately 1,500 vessel transits per year covering oil tankers, gas carriers, cargo ships, container vessels, and cruise liners.
• RADAR Navigation Assistance Service Remote navigation guidance service for ships in the downstream section of the Gironde estuary under favorable weather conditions. Port officers continuously monitor, identify and control vessels using RADAR coverage of the estuary; pilots provide remote navigation assistance to ships via radar observation, supporting vessels such as those at Chambrette and Suzac waiting anchorages and inner-harbor ships.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,500 ships transited per year through the Gironde estuary safely
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Grand Port Maritime de Bordeaux (GPMB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrand Port Maritime de Bordeaux is the primary port authority partner. Collaborates on harbor modeling, quay dimension studies, and regular bathymetric surveys of the 41-nautical-mile dredged channel. Provides financial support for simulator development and updates. The port is the final destination for vessels piloted through the estuary.
• Fédération Française des Pilotes Maritimes (FFPM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational federation of maritime pilots. Provides professional standards, training recommendations (OMI A 960), and coordinates the profession in collaboration with the French state. Station de Pilotage de la Gironde is a member station.
• European Maritime Pilots Association (EMPA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean federation of maritime pilots providing international professional coordination and standards.
• International Maritime Pilots Association (IMPA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal federation of maritime pilots providing international professional standards, best practices, and coordination.
• Union Maritime et Portuaire de BordeauxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaritime and port union of Bordeaux representing port stakeholders and maritime industry interests in the region.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Station de Pilotage du Havre / Le Havre Pilots: French Atlantic/Channel pilotage station operating the same compulsory service model for the Seine estuary approaches. Same legal regime, similar syndicate structure, comparable customer base of oil/LNG tankers and large cruise vessels.
• Lotsenbrüderschaft Hamburg / Hamburg Port Pilots: German compulsory pilotage organization for the Port of Hamburg, operating on the Elbe estuary. Closely analogous to Pilotage de la Gironde in terms of compulsory service, estuarine channel, and large-vessel (including cruise and tanker) handling.
• Station de Pilotage de Brest: French pilotage station on the Atlantic coast operating under the same 1928 law framework. Directly comparable in syndicate structure and compulsory-service economics, with comparable exposure to cruise, naval, and commercial vessel traffic.
• Station de Pilotage de Nantes Saint-Nazaire: French pilotage station covering the Loire estuary under identical statutory framework. Most directly comparable peer to Pilotage de la Gironde given the analogous estuarine environment, river port, and oil/LNG tanker exposure.
• Station de Pilotage de Marseille-Fos: French pilotage station under the same 1928 law framework providing compulsory maritime pilotage in the Fos-sur-Mer and Marseille approaches. Directly comparable syndicate structure, regulated fee model, and statutory monopoly on a specific French coastline.
• Loodswezen (Port of Rotterdam Pilots): Dutch compulsory pilotage authority for the Port of Rotterdam — Europe's largest port. Directly comparable in service scope (mandatory pilotage on a complex estuarine/port approach), asset-intensive operating model, and regulated fee structure.
• Singapore Maritime Pilots: Statutory pilotage body providing compulsory pilotage services in the Singapore Strait — one of the world's busiest anchorages. Comparable in monopoly franchise, regulated pricing, and technical sophistication of operations on a high-traffic waterway.
• Station de Pilotage de Dunkerque: French pilotage station operating under the same 1928 law framework on the North Sea/Channel coast. Closely comparable syndicate model and customer base (oil/LNG, cargo, ferries) in a different French estuary.
• Port of London Authority Pilotage: Statutory pilotage authority for the tidal Thames — an estuarine compulsory pilotage regime analogous to the Gironde model, with similar challenges around tide, current, and constrained channel navigation.

Others

• Fédération Française des Pilotes Maritimes (FFPM): National federation representing all French maritime pilot stations — the industry body that sets training standards (OMI A 960), coordinates with the French state, and advocates for the compulsory pilotage regime. Peer in the sense of being the institutional ecosystem around Pilotage de la Gironde.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pilotage-de-la-gironde

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PILOTAGE DE LA GIRONDE