Florida Harbor Pilots Association

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CONTACT FHPA
Captain Stuart Lilly PO Box 38294 Tallahassee, FL 32315 (850) 224-0219 office (305) 725-2543 cell kp84@yahoo.com

February 2014

FLORIDA HARBOR PILOTS ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES 40 YEARS; PILOTING ON FLORIDAS WATERWAYS SINCE 1868
February 2014 - The Florida Harbor Pilots Association (FHPA) this month celebrates 40 years. While the FHPA organized as an association of 12 independent pilot groups in 1974, professionally-licensed state harbor pilots have been providing piloting services on Floridas waterways since 1868. Every year, tens of thousands of commercial ships enter Floridas deepwater ports. They carry millions of tons of cargo and millions of passengers, having a $66 billion wealth effect in our state. On the navigational bridge of nearly every ship is a state-licensed harbor pilot, controlling its navigation. Like every other coastal state in America and every commercial seaport in the world, Floridas harbor pilots are responsible for the safe navigation of these ships every day of the year. The proven system of state licensed harbor pilots continues to keep Floridas ports safer and commerce moving more efficiently. Navigational safety is not left to the whims of ship captains who probably have never transited a Florida port, who are under economic pressure to maximize profit and who has the ship owners interest in mind. There are nearly 100 expert Florida harbor pilots, providing the essential service of navigational safety that costs the state and its taxpayers nothing. Every harbor pilot organization is required by law to provide a safe, reliable and efficient pilot service. Seaports never sleep, so every pilot group maintains an around the clock service with pilot boats, pilot stations, boat docks and dispatching offices. So what separates the ship captains from harbor pilots? A harbor pilots independent judgment insulates them from commercial pressures. Safety is first. For example, if high winds demand the use of tugboats for handling a ship, the harbor pilots judgment is not clouded by pressures to save money for the ship owner by not using tugs. Harbor pilots are locally-trained experts in shiphandling in narrow, congested channels. Ship captains are not. Every seaport is different from the next, so Floridas harbor pilots complete a two to three year intensive training program only in the port for which they are licensed. This guarantees that harbor pilots are specialists in their port. Harbor pilots are often consulted for their navigational expertise when seaports attract newer and bigger ships. Ship captains are not.
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ON THE HORIZON
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HARBOR PILOTS

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Harbor pilots work as a team. For example, there could be six ships moving simultaneously on Tampa Bay. There is a harbor pilot on the bridge of each ship. Ship captains know only their ship; harbor pilots have years of experience on all ship types and have expert local knowledge. A team of harbor pilots thus efficiently manage the flow of commerce. Harbor pilots are not state or county employees; they are not tugboat operators or pilot boat drivers; they are not cruise ship employees. They are not advisors to ship captains; they direct and control the ships navigation. Every day, their licenses are on the line. Harbor pilots are not distracted by responsibilities other than navigation, like ship captains are. Harbor pilots operate businesses, make permanent investments in infrastructure and serve a public purpose of ensuring navigation safety. What does a harbor pilot cost the ship owner? Safety costs money, but the reasonable rates here keep Floridas ports competitive in the region. This service costs nothing to the state or its citizens. The largest cruise ports in the world are in Florida; their rates are the lowest from here to New York and over to Texas. Pilot costs are a fraction of a percent of ship owners operating costs. There are plenty of ships that are exempted from this service, but most of those ships, whether oil tankers or military ships, still hire state-licensed harbor pilots. Why? They value the service as low cost providers of safety.

JAMES WINEGEART NAMED TO BOARD OF PILOT COMMISSIONERS

FINANCIAL NEWS & DAILY RECORD - February 12, 2014 - Scott also appointed James Winegeart to the state Board of Pilot Commissioners. Winegeart is a harbor pilot with the St. Johns Bar Pilots Association and serves a term that ends Oct. 31, 2017. The board is responsible for licensing and regulating harbor pilots and considers applications and disciplinary cases. To read this article in full, please visit http://bit.ly/1fjVQHU.

Capt. James Winegeart

PORT MANATEE IN GREAT POSITION TO BOOST ECONOMY

BRADENTON HERALD EDITORIAL - January 28, 2014 - With last week's rebranding of Port of Tampa into the more expansive moniker Port Tampa Bay, a bit of heartburn might have afflicted Manatee County commissioners. They also comprise the county's Port Authority. To read this article in full, please visit http://bit.ly/MaaFFg.

Photo by Bradenton Herald

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