A San Francisco Bar Pilot safely stopped an empty tanker vessel that lost power outside of the Golden Gate this evening, calling for assistance from tugs and notifying the U. S. Coast Guard. The tugs were escorting the ship back to anchorage in San Francisco.
The power loss onboard the OVERSEAS CLELIA MAR, which was outbound from San Francisco Bay and carried no cargo, occurred at approximately 5:15 pm a few miles outside the Golden Gate Bridge. The outage involved the loss of the ship’s main propulsion system, a generator and rudder control. San Francisco Bar Pilot Captain Dave McCloy was onboard at the time and immediately ordered the vessel’s anchor lowered. The ship was safely stopped and the Coast Guard was called to the scene.
“San Francisco Bar Pilots are prepared for and train for just this type of scenario,” said Captain Peter McIsaac, president of the San Francisco Bar Pilots. “Captain McCloy performed admirably and safely stopped this vessel. There were no injuries and no fuel spill or leak. We thank the Coast Guard for their quick response and assistance this evening.”
Once the ship power was restored, the vessel was piloted back within the Bay to Anchorage 9 with the tugs in escort. The USCG boarded the vessel on its way to the anchorage.
Bar pilots train for exactly the kind of situation that occurred tonight, both on ship simulators and in manned scale models.
Established under state law in 1850, the San Francisco Bar Pilots have been helping to conduct shipping traffic safely through Northern California for more than 150 years.
Media Contact: Adam Alberti (415) 225-2443