Bar Pilots News

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted a selection of the most notable American newbuilds delivered of 2023—from a first-of-its-kind green towboat, to the lead vessel in a series of game-changing ships to train U.S. mariners.Empire StateAs the lead vessel in a series of five new training ships being constructed to serve America's state maritime academies, Empire State is easily one of the most important U.S.-built vessels delivered in recent memory.Built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.

Recent storms that crossed the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this week left multiple vessels, docks, and barges adrift, causing navigational safety issues around the areaThree 60-foot deck barges were adrift, causing an allision with the 3rd Street Bridge at McCovey Cove leading to Mission Creek. U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco's Prevention Department was made aware of the situation and broadcasted a Notice to Mariners, noting that the area was closed to navigation. A finalized assessment of the bridge is pending the completion of an inspection by engineers.

Seattle shipbuilder Snow & Company on Tuesday launched a new pilot boat it is building for the San Francisco Bar Pilots.The 67-foot-long, all-aluminum vessel Golden Gate was designed by U.K. firm Camarc Design and is capable of speeds up to 30 knots.The vessel is is powered by MAN D2862 LE 438 1,200HP US EPA Tier 4 engines that drive Hamilton HTX52 waterjets through Twin Disc MGX 6599 SC gearboxes. The vessel is also equipped with Northern Lights M944T3F 38kW generators.It has…

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, announced it has received an order from the St. Johns Bar Pilots for a new high-speed launch.The newbuild, to be based on the Somerset, Mass. shipbuilder's 40-foot Resilient Class pilot boat introduced in 2005, is scheduled to be delivered to the Florida-based pilots in mid-2024—the pilots’ fourth Gladding-Hearn pilot boat since 1962.Designed by Ray Hunt Design, the all-aluminum launch measures 35 feet overall. It has a 13-foot beam, including the foam collar, and a 3-foot draft.

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Glosten announced it has been hired by San Francisco Bar Pilots to design new station boats that will meet California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission requirements.Glosten’s support of the new station boats includes a propulsion feasibility study, which is currently underway, and a contract design package.The first two station boats are expected to be in service by the end of 2024, with the third in service by the end of 2025, making San Francisco Bar Pilots the first pilot association in California to acquire vessels that will meet CARB’s Commercial Harbor Craft Regulation. The rules…

Boat builder Metal Shark said it has delivered a 55- by 17-foot welded aluminum pilot boat to the Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association in Mississippi.Designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and built at the company’s Franklin, La. shipyard, the new Singing River Island is the second Metal Shark pilot boat to join the Pascagoula Pilots fleet. It represents the latest evolution in the Louisiana-based builder’s Defiant-class pilot boat lineup, combining a proven hull form with a modern…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officially kicked off the project to deepen of the Mississippi River Ship Channel to 50 feet Friday, as Weeks Marine’s cutterhead dredge Captain Frank started dredging 5 miles above the Head of Passes.The USACE awarded this first contract for the Ship Channel deepening to Weeks Marine on September 3, 2020, and the Captain Frank started the deepening Friday. The USACE awarded the second cutterhead dredge contract to Manson Construction on September 8, 2020. Manson’s cutterhead, the Robert M. White, is expected to begin deepening in late September.

The Port of Vancouver USA received a shipment of wind turbine components on July 22 that included the longest wind turbine blades ever to enter the West Coast of the U.S. and transported across North America, to-date. The port received a total of nine wind turbines including blades, nacelles, generators, hubs, tower sections and other sub-components. Eight of Goldwind’s GW155/4.2 MW turbines arrived on the MV Star Kilimanjaro. There are four complete turbines featuring Goldwind’s 76-meter blades and four additional turbines of the same model with blades arriving on later shipments.

Shipbuilder Metal Shark said it is building a welded aluminum 55’ x 17’ pilot boat for the Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association in Mississippi, scheduled for delivery later this year.Designed in-house, the new 55 Defiant Pilot being built for Pascagoula Pilots incorporates the“faceted hull” design initially developed by Metal Shark for the U.S. Navy 40 PB program, and features an enhanced version of Metal Shark’s “pillarless glass” in a two-tiered, reverse-raked arrangement.The builder…

The master of a Gibraltar-flagged bulk carrier has pleaded guilty to operating a commercial cargo ship while intoxicated, announced U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson and U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Marie Byrd.In pleading guilty, Vadim Humenyuk, of Izmail, Ukraine, admitted that he was intoxicated while serving as the 590-foot long Rainbow Quest while in San Francisco Bay and preparing to sail to South Korea. The plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixon.The investigation began on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, when a San Francisco Bar Pilot contacted Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Vessel Traffic Service personnel reporting that the captain of the Rainbow Quest appeared to be intoxicated. Investigators of the U.S.

Four crew members are missing from a roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel that is disabled, overturned and has caught fire near Brunswick, Georgia, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday.Twenty people have been safely removed from the ship, and the Coast Guard said it is working with local partners to locate the four crew still missing from the 656-foot vehicle carrier, MV Golden Ray, which began listing heavily and capsized with 23 crew and one pilot on board in St. Simons Sound early on Sunday morning.The Coast Guard said it was notified of the capsizing by a 911 call around 2 a.m.There were 4…

U.S.-Flag dredgers answer the call in the Mississippi River Basin.Major flooding this winter in the Mississippi River Basin has created significant increased shoaling in the Southwest Pass Channel of the Mississippi River. Shoaling is generally described as the river containing elevated levels of sand and sediment resulting in high water levels and river swelling. The Southwest Pass, spanning the lower end of the Mississippi River (Baton Rouge, La.) to the Gulf of Mexico, services…

The Mighty Mississippi River connects 31 states and 2 Canadian Provinces by a liquid superhighway that includes over 250 tributaries and features more miles of inland waterways than the rest of the world combined. As I contemplate my thoughts on the importance of this great river system, there is no doubt that muddy water also runs through my veins. Nevertheless, much of my advocacy involves explaining to others not so closely in tune with this economic superhighway as to just how important it truly is.

The largest container ship to ever visit the U.S., the1,300-foot-long CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, left the Port of Oakland Monday afternoon around 1:15 p.m. after docking at the port on New Year’s Eve, port officials said. It stopped at Los Angeles first before arriving in Oakland, and will export agricultural products and other items back to Asia, port officials said. CMA CGM, based in Marseilles, France, expects the Benjamin Franklin to return to Oakland regularly, hauling cargo between China, South Korea and the West Coast. Receiving an 18,000-TEU capacity vessel for the first time requires long and meticulous preparation to guarantee a flawless call and fluid operations in as little time as possible.

Heavy silt deposits in the Mississippi River Delta caused by recent high upstream river levels have led to a reduction from 47 to 45 feet for the maximum recommended draft for vessels using the Southwest Pass, Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) advised. The Southwest Pass is the primary shipping channel on the Mississippi River, with a variety of cargos entering and leaving the river. It is the only channel that can be used by deep draft vessels. The guidance, issued by the Louisiana Maritime Association, is effective immediately.

The U.S. Executive Branch has declared that the cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation, and that America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on effective cyber security. Before the maritime industry sounds the danger signal, it needs to monitor other industries and branches of the government and take proactive preventative measures. There is no better place to prepare future and current mariners for these challenges than in maritime simulators.

NOAA administrator Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., has appointed six members to the Hydrographic Services Review Panel, a federal advisory committee that gives NOAA independent advice for improving a range of services and products that support navigation and coastal resilience. Capt. “Providing coastal communities, boaters, and the commercial maritime industry with timely, reliable, accurate, and authoritative information is essential as we strive to keep commerce flowing through our nation’s ports,” Sullivan said. Rear Admiral Ken Barbor (ret.), U.S. Lawson W. Capt. Gary A. Scott R.

There will be a dead ship tow of the Dive Support Vessel UNCLE JOHN from the Mobile Sea Buoy to BAE Shipyard starting at approximately 0600 today. The 253 feet long, 173 feet wide rig will be towed by the tugs FINN FALGOUT and WILKEN FALGOUT with assist tugs provided by Crescent Towing. The UNCLE JOHN and the FINN FALGOUT will have bar pilots onboard for the entire operation and will be standing by on VHF/FM channels 13 and 16. The transit will be made in daylight hours and should take 7 to 9 hours, during which time one-way traffic will be necessary. For information about operations in the USA contact GAC USA at [email protected]

San Francisco Bay Anchorages will be unable to accommodate vessels with drafts greater than 25 feet. Vessels en-route to San Francisco expecting to anchor with drafts in excess of 25 feet should expect delays and are advised to coordinate with their agents and the San Francisco Bar Pilots on VHF-FM CH10 or (415) 393-0457. For information about operations in the USA contact GAC USA at [email protected]

The largest floating drydock in the United States, the Vigorous, has arrived at Vigor Industrial’s Portland shipyard. What’s happening? Vigor Industrial’s new floating drydock, the Vigorous, is headed towards Portland. See our news release for details of arrival. What is the Vigorous? The Vigorous is the largest floating drydock in the United States. The Vigorous will be 300 feet longer and one and a half times the width of Vigor’s largest drydock, with more than three times the lifting capacity. What’s a floating drydock? A floating drydock is a U-shaped marine vessel used to service and build ships. Operators let water into the drydock through valves to submerge it, which allows ships to drive in and out of the drydock.

The country’s largest floating drydock, the Vigorous, is headed for Portland this weekend. The drydock, a piece of equipment used to lift vessels as large as cruise ships out of the water, is scheduled to arrive at the mouth of the Columbia Sunday. It will make its way up to Vigor Industrial’s Portland shipyard on the Willamette River by Sunday evening or Monday morning, depending on weather and river traffic. Fully assembled, the drydock will be 960-feet long. However, it is currently in three parts, which are stacked aboard a 738-foot heavy lift ship for delivery.

The country’s largest floating drydock, the Vigorous, is headed for Portland this weekend. The drydock, a piece of equipment used to lift vessels as large as cruise ships out of the water, is scheduled to arrive at the mouth of the Columbia Sunday. It will make its way up to Vigor Industrial’s Portland shipyard on the Willamette River by Sunday evening or Monday morning, depending on weather and river traffic. Fully assembled, the drydock will be 960-feet long. However, it is currently in three parts, which are stacked aboard a 738-foot heavy lift ship for delivery.

Kvichak Marine Industries recently delivered Astoria, a self-righting 74’ all-aluminum pilot boat, to the Columbia River Bar Pilots (CRBP) of Astoria, Oregon. Astoria is the third CRBP pilot boat designed by Camarc, Ltd., of the UK and built by Kvichak. The pilots christened Astoria at a ceremony last week where the vessel has joined Columbia, built in 2008. Chinook, built in 2000 is retiring this spring. The pilots operate the vessels over the bar at the mouth of the Columbia River.