North America

Raising the bar for San Francisco pilot boat design

Raising the bar for San Francisco pilot boat design

In California, pilotage for vessels sized 750gt and over is mandatory, so the San Francisco Bar Pilots (SFBP) must accompany nearly 8,000 ships in and out of the state’s ports each year, writes Stevie Knight. The pilot vessels are required by law to stand ‘on station’ outside the Golden Gate Bridge, roughly 12nm away from […]