Lakes Pilots Association getting more pilots, new boat

Lakes Pilots Association getting more pilots, new boat

4/7 - Port Huron, Mich. – A 12 percent increase in the rates Great Lakes pilots can charge foreign flag vessels means an additional three pilots for the Lakes Pilots Association in Port Huron.

The U.S. Coast Guard-approved increase went into effect Wednesday. The increase will allow for more American pilots across the Great Lakes, and possibly fewer ships waiting just north of the Blue Water Bridge for an American pilot.

“The Coast Guard realized finally that we need to be compensated fairly to attract new people,” said George Haynes, a pilot and vice president of the Lakes Pilots Association.

Haynes said Great Lakes pilots — based on the difficulty of their work and skill level required — have been the lowest paid in the country for his entire career.

The Lakes Pilots Association out of Port Huron is a private company that provides piloting services to foreign vessels entering the lakes from the ocean. Foreign vessels are required by both the U.S. and Canada to have an American or Canadian pilot on board since the foreign ship officers aren’t licensed in the U.S.

The American or Canadian pilot helps handle communication with other vessels and ports, or give ship crews advice on how to safely navigate the rivers and waterways.

The rate increase would mean those foreign vessels pay more to have an American pilot on board.

The rate increase applies to all Great Lakes pilotage rates, allowing for the hire of a total of nine additional pilots among the three companies that pilot foreign flag vessels on the Great Lakes. Lakes Pilots Association provides pilots on Lake Erie, the Detroit River, the St. Clair River and all the ports in between.

The rate increases and the change in the methodology to tally that rate would set each pilot’s target compensation at $326,114, according to a March 7 report from the U.S. Coast Guard.

It would increase the rates for about 126 foreign flag vessels by 12 percent – an about $1.86 million increase from 2015. The Coast Guard also authorized a temporary surcharge of $1.65 million to cover the costs of hiring and training additional pilots. The rates will be reviewed again next year.

The rate changes were prompted by complaints from the pilots and industry officials regarding revenue shortfalls that impeded “safe, efficient and reliable pilotage service,” according to the report from the U.S. Coast Guard.

“They said these shortfalls are the primary reason that the associations could not provide sufficient pilot compensations to attract, hire, and retain qualified pilots,” the Coast Guard report said.

“… Industry has agreed that there is a shortage of qualified pilots and said that the decay of association infrastructure jeopardized the pilots’ ability to ensure vessel safety and provide efficient, reliable service.”

Foreign flag vessels aren’t happy with the increase, which they feel will far exceed the Coast Guard’s 12 percent estimate.

Michael Broad, president for the Shipping Federation of Canada, estimates the new increase will be closer to 46 percent more than the foreign flag vessels paid in 2015. The Shipping Federation of Canada represents all of the foreign flag shipping lines entering the Great Lakes.

Broad said the Coast Guard’s final rule was dismissive of industry comments and relied on anecdotal evidence rather than hard facts.

“We tried to appeal to the Coast Guard’s sense of accountability but that doesn’t seem to have worked so I guess we’ll have to decide what to do moving forward,” Broad said. “We’re looking at all options, including legal action.”

Haynes said the additional pilots are sorely needed. In 2014, the Lakes Pilots Association employed 10 pilots, its lowest number of pilots since 1960.

He said the low rates authorized by the Coast Guard have not been enough to attract qualified and experienced pilots. The new pilots in Port Huron will increase the association’s numbers from 11 to 14, and total pilot numbers across the Great Lakes from 41 to 50.

“They would not have come here if we didn’t have that rate increase,” Haynes said. “Now, we’ll be able to service the ships without delays.”

The Lakes Pilots Association also is in the midst of building a new pilot boat used to transport pilots to and from freighters.

Haynes said, in 2013, the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority of Canada asked Lakes Pilots to provide a more reliable pilot boat in Detroit. Haynes said both pilot agencies and foreign flag vessels have pitched in to pay for the $1.6 million cost of the new pilot boat.

The 53-foot boat is being built by Gladding-Hearn in Somerset, Massachusetts, and should be ready by September.

The new boat will replace the Huron Belle in Port Huron, which was built in 1979. The Huron Belle will be moved to Detroit and replace the Huron Maid, which was not built for heavy seas, Haynes said.

The new boat will be called the Huron Mist. Haynes said the pilots association asked the Jim Acheson foundation to name the boat in honor of Acheson’s contributions to the community.

Haynes said the increase in pilots and investment in infrastructure are a relief for Great Lakes pilots.

“We’ll look back on this year as the Great Expansion,” Haynes said. “We’ve never hired this many people in one year and our last boat was built in 1979.”

Port Huron Ti

Here is an interesting article on cost for Great Lake Pilots.
I think they made a mistake about cost of $ 400,000 it should be around $ 60,000
I had a call this spring from a Captain large yacht over 35 M about the pilot fees and because she was foreign flag they needed a pilot for the St. Lawrence River to Montreal and Seaway Locks and Lake Pilots all the way to Port Huron and it was going to cost her $ 60,000 return .
If yacht is US flagged you only need Seaway pilots for the locks and St. Lawrence River no Lake pilots, cost about $ 18,000 one way.
If yacht is Canadian flagged you need a pilot if yacht is over 500 tons.
http://www.drakenexpeditionamerica....reat-lakes-and-the-tall-ships-challenge-2016/