The station today
Welcome to the “Rouen – Caen – Dieppe” Seine Pilot Station website
The eldest daughter of Pilotage Maritime Français (see Station History), the « Pilotage de la Seine » grew out of the former Quillebeuf station, once famous for its loyalty to the French crown. Successive mergers with the Villequier (1948), Honfleur (1958), Dieppe (1976) and Caen (1991) stations led to the current structure.
HAROPA PORT, Port de Rouen, formerly Le Grand Port Maritime de Rouen, stretches from the sea to the Guillaume-le-Conquérant bridge. Its infrastructures include all the quays and wharves located between these two extremities, Honfleur, Radicatel, Port-Jérôme, Saint-Wandrille, Le Trait and, upstream from La Bouille, the Port of Rouen itself. Given the long distances involved, two pilots take turns at Caudebec en Caux during the transits between Rouen and the harbor.
Most of the 3,500 ships that sail up the Seine every year cover the entire 120-kilometer stretch between the Port of Rouen and the sea. The 22 to 26 million tonnes of maritime traffic that use the waterways in this way total some 2.5 billion tonne-kilometres saved from road transport each year, not counting river traffic.
Site de Rouen – Siège social
21, avenue du Mont Riboudet
76000 Rouen
Site du Havre
176, Chaussée Amiral Durand Viel
76600 LE HAVRE
Site de Caen
23, rue de la Résistance
14150 CAEN OUISTREHAM
Site de Dieppe
Rue Louis de Bures
76200 DIEPPE
Site de Rouen – Siège social
21, avenue du Mont Riboudet
76000 Rouen
Site du Havre
176, Chaussée Amiral Durand Viel
76600 LE HAVRE
Site de Caen
23, rue de la Résistance
14150 CAEN OUISTREHAM
Site de Dieppe
Rue Louis de Bures
76200 DIEPPE
The mission of the Seine pilots is twofold:
Pilots ensure the safe transit of all vessels in the heart of an exceptional natural environment, with the aim of safeguarding human life, protecting the environment and protecting port facilities. The achievement of this mission relies on marine pilots’ intimate knowledge of their pilotage area and ship maneuvers, consolidated by the extensive training they receive throughout their career.
Pilots contribute to the economic efficiency of the Port of Rouen. They are responsible for regulating traffic on the Seine. Their permanent availability ensures that traffic flows smoothly and safely. By delegation from the Prefect, the Seine pilots are also responsible for defining the maximum permissible draughts in the Seine.
Pilotage de la Seine provides the skills of the station’s 50 pilots and their 46 employees, as well as the material resources needed to carry out these missions on an ongoing basis.
Managed by the pilots and ISO-certified (via the FFPM) since 1998, the Seine station’s main concern is to listen attentively to its customers’ needs and continually strive to improve the 12,000 services it provides each year.