A Note from President Capt. John Carlier
Welcome back to the San Francisco Bar Pilots Newsletter, Summer 2024 edition! By all accounts, the first half of the year has flown by, with the Bar Pilots staying busy as inbound shipping activity continues to improve compared to last year’s numbers.
As we enter the summer months, the Bar Pilots remain focused on the impending California Air Resources Board (CARB) Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) regulations that, as currently written, will significantly hinder the organization’s ability to fulfill its statutory mandate by requiring the Bar Pilots to replace their fleet of station boats by 2025 at a cost of almost $86 million. SFBP, along with Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, enthusiastically supports AB 1296, authored by Asm. Timothy Grayson, that seeks to extend CARB’s compliance deadlines to match the service life of SFBP’s existing station boats. While the Bar Pilots have worked extensively with engineering firm Glosten to design the new CARB-compliant station boats, constructing the vessels prior to the current fleets’ expirations is infeasible from both a financial and timeline perspective. Instead, the Bar Pilots are asking for the ability to allow the existing boats to live out their usefulness and to apportion the costs in a way that is manageable for the organization, as well as the shippers who call in our nine Bay Area ports.
The Bar Pilots are unique in California in that the organization owns the only three station boats in the state, where the primary use of the vessels involves idling 11 miles offshore from the Golden Gate Bridge. Asm. Grayson’s bill will ensure the economic health and stability of the pilotage system while still aligning with California’s environmental goals, allowing the Bar Pilots to operate with their full fleet of vessels and continue to drive California’s economy forward.
The other legislative effort the Bar Pilots have been working on is Sen. Bill Dodd’s SB 295, which provides the Board of Pilot Commissioners (BOPC) more flexibility to utilize revenue accrued from the pilot boat surcharge established through Asm. Grayson’s AB 2056 in 2022.
The Bar Pilots remain steadfastly committed to environmental stewardship through the safe and efficient navigation of vessels within our waterways. These legislative efforts are meant to align California’s rigorous emissions standards goals with the fiscal realities of its supply-chain partners, which will help keep California’s ports competitive as they become greener.
Outside of our ongoing legislative efforts, the Bar Pilots have been busy on and off the water. Continue reading below to hear more about what’s been going on!
Legislative Update
AB 1296
SFBP has led the nation in CARB-compliant pilot vessel design and last September took delivery of PV Golden Gate, the first tier 4 engine pilot vessel in the United States. As we plan for the replacement of our next three pilot vessels, meeting CARB’s stringent compliance deadlines has become an insurmountable challenge. Compliance for PV California and PV San Francisco expire in December of 2024 and PV Drake expires in December of 2025. It is neither fiscally nor logistically possible to meet these deadlines, jeopardizing our ability to meet the statutory obligations of providing pilotage service.
In order to address this operational challenge, AB 1296 proposes a viable pathway to achieve CARB compliance by extending CARB’s deadlines to match the service life of the station boats. This approach allows sufficient time to collect the necessary funds to build new, CARB-compliant boats one at a time, without financing the construction costs and saving tens of millions of dollars. This bill will ensure that all pilot vessels will comply with CARB standards as soon as practicable and within the timelines set in the bill.
AB 1296 was heard on June 25th by the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, where the bill passed unanimously on a 14-0 vote and re-referred to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality where it will be heard and voted on July 3rd. If the bill passes out of Senate Environmental Committee, it will move to the Senate Floor before it heads back to the Assembly following the summer recess.
SB 295
The sponsors of AB 2056 (Grayson), Chapter 769, Statutes of 2022 – the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, the San Francisco Bar Pilots, and the Cruise Lines International Association – intended to create a path to allow the Board of Pilot Commissioners to collect and expend moneys in larger amounts to avoid paying significant financing costs associated with purchasing three new vessels and/or repowering existing boats.
However, the language included in Harbors and Navigation Code Section 1159.1 has instead been interpreted to limit the amount of money that can be expended from the fund. This has limited the account’s flexibility and thus restricted the ability of the BOPC to modernize their fleet.
SB 295 (Dodd) would remove the statutorily established caps and allow unspent funds to carry forward to future fiscal years and ensure flexibility for the Board of Pilot Commissioners to remit the funds necessary to replace and repower vessels to avoid millions of dollars in financing costs, and allow unspent funds to carry forward to future fiscal years.
SB 295 was heard by the Assembly Transportation Committee yesterday and was passed with bipartisan support, 13-0, and will now head to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Should the bill pass out of the Assembly floor, it will return to the Senate before it goes to the Governor’s desk.
SFBP in the San Francisco Standard
The Bar Pilots teamed up with the San Francisco Standard in April to learn more about SFBP and what a typical day looks like. Click the links below to read the article and view the Standard’s social media feature.
Capt. Nancy Wagner Induction
Retired San Francisco Bar Pilot Capt. Nancy Wagner was honored by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and inducted into the Academy’s Hall of Distinguished Graduates in April, in honor of her many maritime achievements across her storied career. Capt. Wagner was the first female pilot in the country and continued her successful piloting career with SFBP for another 25 years. The Bar Pilots want to again offer their congratulations to Capt. Wagner on this excellent achievement!
SFBP Honored by SF Board of Supervisors
On Sunday, April 14, San Francisco Bar Pilot Capt. Nick Deisher was outbound aboard the Honourable Henry Jackman when he noticed that a small vessel ahead had what appeared to be an individual wearing a life jacket clinging to the hull. Capt. Deisher notified the Captain of the Jackman and began to slow down to investigate. After radioing to Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), SFBP’s Pilot Vessel California responded that they were en route to the scene from the pilot station.
PV California arrived on the scene shortly thereafter and commenced rescue operations to recover two of the four victims, with an SFPD rescue boat arriving minutes later to assist with the recovery of the other two individuals.
Capt. Deisher was on hand at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting the following week to accept commendations on behalf of SFBP and the crew of PV California, who were honored by Supervisor Joel Engardio for their courageous efforts while rescuing the crew of a capsized vessel. In addition to Capt. Deisher receiving a commendation, Capt. Mark Barnum was recognized alongside pilot boat crew Capt. Adian Minty, Capt. Mark Hargus, Capt. Christopher Auer and Erick Weiss.
Middle School Day with Capt. Pullin
Capt. Jesse Pullin recently visited M.P. Brown Elementary School for Career Day, where he walked students through his role as a San Francisco Bar Pilot. As part of SFBP’s Outreach Committee, Capt. Pullin and fellow committee members often engage with the public to talk about a career in the maritime industry and potential pathways to get there.
Trainee Capt. Gallo & President JQ Adams
SFBP Trainee Capt. Lilly Gallo assisted in piloting APL’s newest container ship, President JQ Adams, into the Port of Oakland in late May, marking the vessel’s first-ever port call. Capt. Gallo was APL’s first female captain and had the honor of christening the vessel in Los Angeles a week before its call in the Bay Area.
USACE Visit to the Port of Oakland
The Bar Pilots recently hosted a contingent from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a pilot vessel ride to see firsthand the Oakland Harbor turning basins that their teams have been working on. SFBP and USACE are integral partners on the water, utilizing data from each other and working together on dredging, infrastructure and other projects on the San Francisco Bay and its waterways.
Viking Emerald Arrival
SFBP recently piloted Viking Emerald, a 548’ vehicle carrier, to the AMPORTS Inc. terminal at the Port of Antioch, marking the first time a shipment of cars has ever called the port. The Bar Pilots look forward to continuing to work closely with the Port of Antioch and its terminals.
Below are Capts. Neil Billingsley and Mark Manes, joined by Pilot Trainees Christian Barron and Carl Johnson, disembarking the Viking Emerald after the successful transit.
Thank you to Former Commissioner Jennifer Schmid
The Bar Pilots would like to offer our thanks to Commissioner Jennifer Schmid, who served on the Board of Pilot Commissioners from 2015-2019 and from 2020-2024. The Bar Pilots are extremely appreciative of Commissioner Schmid’s hard work on behalf of the Board and wish her well on her next adventure!
