PILOT BOAT DESCRIPTION
The Pascagoula Pilots have 3 Boats:
SINGING RIVER ISLAND - 55'
ROUND ISLAND - 38'
HORN ISLAND - 36'
The pilot boats display the International Code flag "H" by day and the standard pilot lights by night. The pilot boats monitor VHF-FM channel 16 continuously. The pilot office monitors channel 16 also.
The pilot boats are dispatched when vessels are expected, and the pilots board 1 1/2 mile east of Seabuoy HI. Vessels should maintain steerage way and offer a good lee for the pilot to board. Pilots will advise vessels on the VHF if special procedures are necessary. All pilots carry portable VHF radios.
Pilots can be obtained with 2 hours advance notice to the dispatch office -- SR Answering & Dispatch at (228)762-1151.
Our pilot boats are available for a ship to shore transfer of personnel. This service is provided at a cost of $1000.00 per one-way trip depending upon the availability of the pilot boat. Also offered is vessel escort service, at a cost of $1000.00 per one-way trip.
OUR HISTORY
The Port of Pascagoula has been a center for trade activity since the early 1800's. There were pilots on hand to guide these ships as well, however little is recorded as to who these pilots were. We have information as early as 1895 that five pilots were licensed in the Port: J.J. Clark, Alfred Olssen, William H. George, A. F. Chastant, Charles Brash. The early 1830's saw the predominate commodity as cotton. Shipyards and sawmills began to establish themselves along the Pascagoula River and thus the lumber and shipbuilding industry was established. The early 1950's saw the establishment of imports in chemicals, crude oil, petroleum products, and fertilizer.
By 1955, The Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association was formed with the charter members being C.T. Torjusen, C.T. Torjusen, Jr., Henry Morton and William Dubuission. The Port of Pascagoula continued to grow through the early 1900's and today there are 6 full-time pilots: Captain Fredrick A. Lundy, Sr., Captain Darryl E. Langley, Captain Walter W. Gautier, Captain Brian E. Waters, Captain Jasper H. Walsh and Captain Edward McGorty
In selecting candidates to become apprentice pilots the Pascagoula Pilots accept only experienced working mariners that have already been qualified and licensed by the Federal Government as First Class Pilots. Training can last up to one year before recommending them to the Pilot Commissioners and Jackson County Port Authority for a full commission.
The Pascagoula Pilots are a group of highly skilled and experienced professionals who possess an exceptional safety record. The Bar Pilots take very seriously from the beginning and in the future their commitment to serve the vessels which call upon the Port of Pascagoula.
This page is dedicated to those whose professionalism and expertise came before us.
J.J. Clark (1895)
Alfred Olssen (1895)
William H. George (1895)
A.F. Chastant (1895)
Charles Brash (1895)
Charles Torjusen (1955 - 1956)
Charles Torjusen, Jr. (1955 - 1990)
Henry Morton (1955 - 1957)
William Dubuission (1955 - 1970)
Don Baker (1959 - 1963)
Ford Manning (1962 - 1974)
Jacob Foster (1965 - 1986)
Jim Ford (1974 - 1987)
J. D. Collier (1976 - 1991)
Ted E. Brown (1976 - 1993)
Michael J. Casey (1993 - 2000)
Donald A. Foster (1975 - 2005)
J. Michael Lupton (1990 - 2005)
Joseph Mosso (2000 - 2012)
Robert Baker (1990 - 2019)
Ronald Robertson (1987 - 2021)
Daniel E. Whyte (2012 - 2022)
Michael Torjuson (1984 - 2022)