The roots of pilotage on Kiel Fjord date back to the 18th century. In connection with the construction of the Eider Canal, the Bülk-Laboe pilots were first mentioned in official records in 1785. Even then, seafarers with detailed local knowledge guided arriving and departing vessels safely through the challenging waters of Kiel Fjord, laying the foundations for organised pilotage in the region.

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As shipping developed and the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal—now the Kiel Canal—was built, the importance of the district steadily increased. To meet the growing demands, the Lotsenbrüderschaft am Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal zu Holtenau was founded in Kiel-Holtenau on 28 May 1922. It assumed responsibility for the self-administration of the canal pilots and marked the beginning of today’s organisational structure.

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Three years later, in 1925, the Lotsenbrüderschaft Laboe was established with responsibility for maritime pilotage on Kiel Fjord. As part of the reorganisation of German pilotage, it was dissolved as an independent pilots’ association in 1937 and incorporated into the Holtenau Pilots’ Association.

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After the Second World War, the German Maritime Pilotage Act of 1954 fundamentally reorganised pilotage in Germany and granted the pilots’ associations the status of corporations under public law. In this context, the Lotsenbrüderschaft Laboe was also reorganised. In 1957, the Holtenau and Laboe pilots’ associations merged to form the Lotsenbrüderschaft NOK II / Kieler Förde, bringing the experience of canal and maritime pilots together within a single organisation.

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Another major step followed in 1968 with the integration of the Trave pilots. This merger extended the pilotage district to include the River Trave and the Lübeck area. The association subsequently developed into today’s Lotsenbrüderschaft Nord-Ostsee-Kanal II – Kiel / Lübeck / Flensburg, whose area of responsibility encompasses the eastern section of the Kiel Canal as well as the Kiel Fjord, River Trave and Flensburg Fjord pilotage districts.