A Note from President Capt. John Carlier
Hello and welcome back to the San Francisco Bar Pilots quarterly newsletter! As always, the Bar Pilots have been staying busy ensuring our regional supply chain continues to move products efficiently amidst a host of complications and work stoppages in other areas of our national and global supply networks. That being said, our organization has also been working diligently off the water to pursue a long-term viable solution to complying with the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) upcoming Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) regulations and continuing to work with fellow local agencies, like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bay Area ports.
Continue reading about what the Bar Pilots have been up to this summer below!
Legislative Update
The Bar Pilots celebrated the passage of SB 295 (Dodd), which allows SFBP more flexibility to utilize the funds necessary to build new pilot vessels. We are incredibly grateful for the hard work of Senator Dodd and his staff to make this bill into law.
Our other legislative effort, AB 1296 (Grayson), sought to extend CARB’s compliance deadlines to match the service life of SFBP’s existing station boats and provide a feasible compliance pathway similar to what the state has provided to public utility fleets, but the legislation was ultimately vetoed by Governor Newsom. We would like to thank Asm. Grayson and his staff for their work on the legislation. While SFBP is disappointed, we intend to follow up with the appropriate state agencies and the legislature to find a viable compliance pathway that will help us meet the state’s emissions regulations.
Outside of these efforts, Bar Pilots leadership headed to Sacramento several times to interface with decision makers and highlight the importance of SFBP for both the region and the State of California.
The Bar Pilots are thankful for Senator Skinner’s service and her support of SFBP and legislation that ensures a viable and sustainable maritime economy
The Bar Pilots leadership team enjoyed meeting Speaker Rivas and learning about his call to service – as a teacher, firefighter, and now as the 71st Speaker of the Assembly.
Fleet Week 2024
As always, Fleet Week marks one of the highlights of the year in the San Francisco Bay Area. This year was no different, with attendees able to enjoy clear skies on Friday while watching the Blue Angels as well as the many planes and military vessels that called San Francisco home for the week.
The Bar Pilots hosted Asm. Lori Wilson and a handful of staffers from Sacramento to further educate our policymakers on the importance of the Bar Pilots on the San Francisco Bay and to view the events of the Fleet Week weekend. We hope everyone who attended left feeling more knowledgeable about the organization and with some great videos to share! Special thanks to Asm. Wilson as well as staff from the offices of Asm. Connolly, Asm. Ortega, Asm. Papan, Asm. Wicks, and Sen. Becker for joining us.
USACE Regional Governance Meeting
In August, the Bar Pilots leadership team joined staff from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Port of Oakland, and the Port of San Francisco for the Army Corps’ Regional Governance Meeting. The meeting began with a series of presentations at the Ferry Building, with Capt. Anne McIntyre presenting on the role of SFBP within the Bay as well as the close collaboration between the pilots and USACE. The group then hopped on a ferry for a tour of the San Francisco Bay to visit the ongoing flood defense and Oakland turning basins projects.
USACE, along with the Ports of Oakland and San Francisco, are integral partners to keep the Bay safe, secure, and thriving. We look forward to continuing to work closely with these groups on existing projects as well as any future collaboration.
You can learn more about the Oakland turning basins project here.
Engagement
The Bar Pilots are constantly seeking to educate the public on pilotage and recruiting future generations of pilots. SFBP was able to interact with two groups over the summer to learn more about the organization, as well as engaging with a host of other groups through various events.
The Bar Pilots first hosted members of the International Longshoremen & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10’s Young Workers Committee, allowing longshoremen who work at the Ports of Oakland and San Francisco to get a first-hand look at how containers and other cargo are transported from the open ocean to the terminals that they oversee. SFBP and the ILWU enjoy a strong, collaborative relationship and the Bar Pilots would be happy to host more of the union’s local members in the coming months.
Capt. Jesse Pullin, a member of SFBP’s Outreach Committee, also headed over to the Treasure Island Sailing Center to participate in the Center’s “Maritime Speaker Series.” The series allows youth members of the Sailing Center to hear from and engage with maritime professionals, who get to walk the kids through their day-to-day role as well as why maritime careers are so fascinating.
If you are interested in a group tour of Pier 9 and want to learn more about the Bar Pilots, please reach out to Owen O’Mahony at oomahony@bergdavis.com.
