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The bar pilots say they need to add a second pilot on some ships to ensure safety. “The value of our service to the state of California and the protection of the environment, I mean, I’m not sure you can put a price on that,” Horton said.
But the bar pilots have put a price on it. They want to charge 50 percent more for ships they believe need two pilots. The shippers don’t want to pay.
Mike Jacob of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association says state law already dictates pilots’ fees based on the size of the ship.
So the pilots are … asking legislators to approve payment for a second pilot. This time, they have Assembly member Sandre Swanson of Oakland sponsoring the bill.
Swanson says he’d like to see them compensated for a second pilot, but he doesn’t want them deciding when a second pilot is needed.
“Should public safety be left to their discretion? I think public safety should be left to the discretion of the legislature who is responsible to protect the public,” Swanson said.
If his bill doesn’t pass, Swanson says the safety of the Bay is at risk. “If they don’t get compensated and we don’t pass a bill that requires there to be two pilots, is there a chance that maybe we might have one pilot on a super vessel that requires two? There’s always that chance. That’s a chance that I don’t think we can afford to have.”
The pilots point out they’re not being paid with tax dollars, but by wealthy shipping merchants, owned mostly by foreign companies. The merchants say if they have to pay the pilots more, there is a good chance the cost will be passed on to the consumer.