FAQs
What do Bar Pilots do?
The Mississippi River is one of the most dangerous and heavily trafficked waterways on earth. Bar Pilots are necessary to safely guide ships entering the mouth of the Mississippi River, because one accident could bring the flow of a multibillion-dollar industry to a sudden and prolonged stop. Bar Pilots spend their entire careers on very specific portions of the river, so they're "local" knowledge becomes invaluable to ships entering the mouth of the Mississippi river from all over the world.
What does it take to become a Bar Pilot?
Becoming a Bar Pilot takes time and experience. By the time one becomes a State Commissioned Bar Pilot they will have:
- Earned an undergraduate degree
- Minimum one-year at sea on ocean going vessel
- Obtained a USCG first class Pilot license
- Served several years in the Bar Pilot apprentice training program
- Completed nearly 1,000 trips with a State Commissioned Bar Pilot along the waterways we serve.
This means that before becoming a Louisiana State Commissioned Bar Pilot, an individual must dedicate almost a decade of education and training.
Bar Pilots are widely acknowledged as being among the best trained and qualified in the world because hands on experience during the apprentice training and number of trips logged is second to none.
This is why our safety record and efficiency
at moving vessels is so high.
During their tenure, a Pilot will be required to maintain a USCG Pilot License, remain active on the Pilot route, submit an annual physical, enroll in a random drug testing program, and participate is continuing education.
Are you the only river Pilots in Louisiana?
No. The Louisiana River Pilots' Association (LRPA) is made up of four river Pilot associations:
- The Associated Branch Pilots of the Port of New Orleans
- The Crescent River Pilots
- The New Orleans and Baton Rouge Port Pilots (NOBRA)
- The Lake Charles Pilots
Who pays Bar Pilots?
Shippers, not tax payers, pay pilotage fees under a regulated tariff system and the Bar Pilots cannot raise pilotage fees at will. Pilotage is set by the Louisiana Pilot Fee Commission, and paid by shippers, who use Pilots to bring ships and their cargo in and out of the Mississippi River. It is a common misconception that the state of Louisiana contributes to Pilot pay. Neither the State of Louisiana nor Louisiana tax dollars contribute a single penny to pilotage fees.
