In recent years there has been a substantial increase in maritime legislation and regulations, as well as an increase in self-regulation. Regulators recognize the contributory effects of industry self-regulation through voluntary codes of best practice and guidelines. Industry self-regulation is considered a necessary and welcome addition to the traditional compliance and survey-based systems. For this reason, the International Standard for Maritime Pilot Organizations (ISPO) was established and is in use by over 40 pilot organizations worldwide, representing over one-thousand pilots.
