The act requires competent harbour authorities (CHA) to keep under consideration what pilotage services are needed to secure the safety of ships and gives them powers to: The act requires the Secretary of State to maintain a list of CHAs, and also allows the Secretary of State to authorise other bodies to grant deep sea pilotage certificates in respect of such part of the sea falling outside the harbour of any CHA.

The act established the definition of a CHA as any harbour authority that has statutory powers relating to the regulation of shipping movements and the safety of navigation.

Prior to this act, Trinity House was responsible for the provision of local pilots for entering ports.

[1] Following the Sea Empress disaster in 1996, the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions undertook a review of the Act which concluded that "Pilotage should rightly remain the responsibility of the CHAs and become integrated with other port marine activity under the management and responsibility of one Statutory Authority".

[2] The principal recommendation of the Review was for the establishment of the Port Marine Safety Code, which was first published in 2000.