The Executive Branch officialized this Friday (July 31st 2026), through Decree 690/2026, a new “Regulation of pilotage and piloting services for the rivers, ports, passages, and channels of the Argentine Republic,” which replaces the one in force since 1991. The regulation, signed by President Javier Milei together with Ministers Federico Sturzenegger, Alejandra Monteoliva, Diego Santilli, and Carlos Presti, will enter into force tomorrow.
In the recitals, the Government maintained that the regulation in force until now, approved more than 34 years ago, contained “obsolete or disproportionate” requirements that hindered the incorporation of new service providers and made foreign trade logistics more expensive.
It also noted that those barriers generated a “favorable context for the existence of abusive and anti-competitive practices” in the sector, which had led to competition defense complaints.
What changes the measure introduces
The decree is framed within the principles of the Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines (27.742) and seeks, according to the text, to increase the number of authorized providers and modernize the operational and safety standards of the shipping sector.
Among the central changes, the regulation establishes that authorized pilots may be freely hired by users as independent professionals, and that transportation services for their embarkation and disembarkation—land, water, or air—may also be freely contracted.
The Argentine Naval Prefecture will continue to be in charge of the register of authorized pilots, with the obligation to register every professional who meets the suitability requirements, without any numerical limit.
The text also creates a central role for the National Agency of Ports and Navigation (ANPYN), an agency that had already been created in January 2025 under the Ministry of Economy.
ANPYN will be responsible for setting the maximum rates for each type of service, which must cover “all the actions and concepts inherent to pilotage and piloting,” so that pilots may not bill additional concepts unless expressly approved by that authority.
Changes in the technical requirements for navigation
Regarding technical requirements, the decree recognizes the suitability of captains of foreign vessels who accredit knowledge of the area and command of the English language, which will make it possible to eliminate the obligatory requirement of local pilots (baqueanos) in those cases.
Likewise, it authorizes commercial vessels certified for other purposes to be used for the transport of pilots, pilot officers, and local pilots, provided they comply with the safety standards set by the Prefecture.
The regulation also imposes new transparency obligations: companies that provide pilotage, piloting, or local pilotage services must publish monthly the prices they charge on their websites, and send quarterly to ANPYN and the National Competition Authority detailed information on the services provided and the prices agreed upon.
In addition, a period of 180 consecutive days was established for the Argentine Navy to transfer to the Argentine Naval Prefecture the processes for the certification of pilots and local pilots. The decree expressly repeals Decree 2694/91, which until now governed the activity, and Articles 23 and 26 of Decree 817/92.