California Board of Pilot Commissioners
Encyclopedia
California Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun is the state agency responsible for setting regulations and licensing requirements for pilots
within one of the largest harbors in the world and the tributary Sacramento River delta. It licenses and regulates 60 San Francisco Bar Pilots and one Inland Pilot, as trip pilots
are known in California.
The Board of Commissioners was created in 1850 during the first session of the California State Legislature
. Once an independent agency, the Board of Commissioners became a department of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency
in 2009. Surcharges paid on pilotage fees finance the work of the commission, making it completely self-supporting.
area, and the tributaries up to the ports of Stockton
and Sacramento
, and Monterey Bay
. Pilots on other California waters operate under the authority of their federal pilot’s license. Port of Los Angeles
pilots are municipal employees. Port of Long Beach
pilots work for a private contractor. Pilots in the ports of Humbolt Bay, San Diego
, and Port Hueneme are commissioned or contracted with by their respective port authorities or districts.
of California
as follows.
The first President of the Pilot Commission was Commander
Cadwalader Ringgold
, USN.
was completed in 1910 and served in World War I
on harbor patrol duty. The two-masted gaff-rigged
schooner
Zodiac
, built as a racing sailboat in 1924 and also named California after being acquired by the San Francisco Pilots Association for use as a pilot boat, is one of few surviving sailing pilots in existence. The two-masted gaff-rigged schooner Adventuress launched in 1913 also saw service as a pilot boat, and during World War II
served with the United States Coast Guard
. The Zodiac and Adventuress are both listed with the National Register of Historic Places
and are now cruising in Washington state after restorations.
The COSCO Busan oil spill
in 2007 resulting from the allision of an oil tanker with the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge was the basis for legislation that ended the 159 years of independence of the Board of Pilot Commissioners and reorganized it into the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Additionally, the Legislature also required that the performance of the Board of Pilot Commissioners be subject to a comprehensive review of the California State Auditor
. The State Auditor's report was published November 24, 2009, and identified several shortcomings in the Board of Pilot Commissioner's activities.
In 2011, California State Assemblymember Alyson Huber
, cochair of the Joint Legislative Sunset
Review Committee, introduced Assembly Bill 656, which would have repealed the statutory authority for the Board of Pilot Commissioners on January 1, 2013. On August 16, 2011, this bill was amended to delete the sections which would have repealed the authority for the Board.
Also in 2011, California State Assemblymember Fiona Ma
, Speaker pro tempore of the State Assembly, introduced Assembly Bill 907, which would provide for an increase in the rates charged ship owners for pilot services. This proposal has generated significant opposition and controversy, primarily because pilots are considered to be very generously compensated under existing rates.
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
within one of the largest harbors in the world and the tributary Sacramento River delta. It licenses and regulates 60 San Francisco Bar Pilots and one Inland Pilot, as trip pilots
Trip pilots
Trip pilot is a term applied to the captains of some inland waterway vessels in the United States of America. Trip pilots possess a Master of Towing Vessel USCG License and are in demand in the commercial tug and barge industry...
are known in California.
The Board of Commissioners was created in 1850 during the first session of the California State Legislature
California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
. Once an independent agency, the Board of Commissioners became a department of the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency
California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency
The California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency is a state cabinet-level agency in the government of California. The Business, Transportation and Housing Agency is responsible for oversight of 14 offices and departments and four economic development programs and initiatives within the...
in 2009. Surcharges paid on pilotage fees finance the work of the commission, making it completely self-supporting.
Jurisdiction
The commission's jurisdiction includes all of the bays and ports in the San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
area, and the tributaries up to the ports of Stockton
Port of Stockton
The Port of Stockton is a major inland deepwater port in Stockton, California located on the San Joaquin River before it joins the Sacramento River to empty into Suisun Bay, eighty miles inland. The port sits on about , and occupies an island in the San Joaquin Delta, and a portion of a...
and Sacramento
Port of Sacramento
The Port of Sacramento is an inland port located northeast of San Francisco, and is centered in one of the richest agricultural regions in the world. Cargo ships access the Port of Sacramento through San Francisco Bay and passage up the Sacramento River and the Sacramento deep water channel...
, and Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....
. Pilots on other California waters operate under the authority of their federal pilot’s license. Port of Los Angeles
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...
pilots are municipal employees. Port of Long Beach
Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the 2nd busiest container port in the USA. It adjoins the separate Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for U.S.-Asian trade, the port occupies of land with of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California...
pilots work for a private contractor. Pilots in the ports of Humbolt Bay, San Diego
Port of San Diego
The Port of San Diego is a self-supporting public benefit corporation established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In 2007, The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics ranked the Port of San Diego as one of America's top 30 U.S. containership ports bringing in nearly of...
, and Port Hueneme are commissioned or contracted with by their respective port authorities or districts.
Commissioners
The commission has eight members appointed by the governorGovernor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
as follows.
- Secretary of the California Business, Transportation and Housing AgencyCalifornia Business, Transportation and Housing AgencyThe California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency is a state cabinet-level agency in the government of California. The Business, Transportation and Housing Agency is responsible for oversight of 14 offices and departments and four economic development programs and initiatives within the...
who serves ex officio - Three public members who are neither pilots nor work for companies that use pilots
- Two licensed pilots
- Two industry members, one from the tanker and one from the dry cargo shipping industry.
The first President of the Pilot Commission was Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
Cadwalader Ringgold
Cadwalader Ringgold
Cadwalader Ringgold was an officer in the United States Navy who served in the United States Exploring Expedition, later headed an expedition to the Northwest and, after initially retiring, returned to service during the Civil War....
, USN.
History and Significant Incidents
Some of the pilot boats used in San Francisco Bay have independent histories. The motorboat USS CaliforniaUSS California (SP-647)
USS California -- later known as USS SP-647 -- was originally a motorboat used by the San Francisco Bar Pilot’s Association as a pilot boat. She was leased by the Navy, and outfitted as an armed patrol craft, assigned to patrol and protect San Francisco harbor...
was completed in 1910 and served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
on harbor patrol duty. The two-masted gaff-rigged
Gaff rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar called the gaff...
schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Zodiac
Zodiac (schooner)
The Zodiac is a two-masted schooner designed by William H. Hand, Jr. for the heirs to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals fortune. Hand intended to epitomize the best features of the American fishing schooner. The , 145-ton vessel competed in transatlantic races before being sold to the San...
, built as a racing sailboat in 1924 and also named California after being acquired by the San Francisco Pilots Association for use as a pilot boat, is one of few surviving sailing pilots in existence. The two-masted gaff-rigged schooner Adventuress launched in 1913 also saw service as a pilot boat, and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
served with the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
. The Zodiac and Adventuress are both listed with the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and are now cruising in Washington state after restorations.
The COSCO Busan oil spill
Cosco Busan oil spill
The COSCO Busan oil spill occurred at 08:30 UTC-8 on 7 November 2007 between San Francisco and Oakland, California, in which of IFO-380 heavy fuel oil, sometimes referred to as "bunker fuel", spilled into San Francisco Bay after the container ship M/V COSCO Busan operated by, Fleet Management...
in 2007 resulting from the allision of an oil tanker with the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge was the basis for legislation that ended the 159 years of independence of the Board of Pilot Commissioners and reorganized it into the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Additionally, the Legislature also required that the performance of the Board of Pilot Commissioners be subject to a comprehensive review of the California State Auditor
State auditor
State auditors are executive officers of U.S. states who serve as auditors and comptrollers for state funds....
. The State Auditor's report was published November 24, 2009, and identified several shortcomings in the Board of Pilot Commissioner's activities.
In 2011, California State Assemblymember Alyson Huber
Alyson Huber
Alyson Huber is a representative in the California State Legislature from the 10th Assembly District in Northern California. Assemblywoman Huber has served since 2008...
, cochair of the Joint Legislative Sunset
Sunset provision
In public policy, a sunset provision or clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law...
Review Committee, introduced Assembly Bill 656, which would have repealed the statutory authority for the Board of Pilot Commissioners on January 1, 2013. On August 16, 2011, this bill was amended to delete the sections which would have repealed the authority for the Board.
Also in 2011, California State Assemblymember Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma
Fiona Ma is the Speaker pro Tempore California State Assembly and a San Francisco politician, and a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.-Personal life:...
, Speaker pro tempore of the State Assembly, introduced Assembly Bill 907, which would provide for an increase in the rates charged ship owners for pilot services. This proposal has generated significant opposition and controversy, primarily because pilots are considered to be very generously compensated under existing rates.