Pacific Warrior (ULOC)
LOA 360m. Draft 22.3 m. Displacement 430k
The Making of a Bay Pilot
Allen Garfinkle, Executive Director, Board of Pilot Commissioners, San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun Bays
Professional mariner Captain Allen Garfinkle, will highlight the role of maritime pilots in waterborne commerce on San Francisco Bay, including how one becomes a maritime pilot, dangers of the job and common myths about piloting on the Bay. Captain Garfinkle is the Executive Director of the state level authority that trains, licenses and regulates those pilots....
This article was first published back in February 2022: According to the International Group of P & I Clubs’ “Report on P&I claims involving vessels under pilotage 1999-2019”, over the last twenty years, there were 1,046 incidents in which pilot error either caused or contributed to those events.
Over the course of 4 days this August, I was afforded the opportunity and privilege of riding with the Savannah Bar Pilots for an article I was writing for a major maritime magazine. The pilots are given the responsibility of boarding a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean and safely navigating the vessel up the Tybee Road 9 (a name for the shipping lane that leads into the Savannah River), into the Savannah River, and into the Port of Savannah. The same is done in reverse when a ship is outbound...
Maneuvering ships are complex operations with high-risk involved. Just like nautical projects, they need to be simulated on training centers before approved. In a scenario of growing ships and limited waterways, state-of-the-art technology is essential to safely increase ports efficiency. That is why Brazilian Pilotage brought the most modern bridge simulator next to the maritime regulatory entities. Located a few minutes from government agencies, in the brazilian capital, our training...