San Francisco

1. San Francisco Pilot boards37°43.9′N 122°41.6′W

Size limits

LOA 333.4m, beam 41.4m, draught 12.2m, 77,247DWT.

Water density

1025.

Load line zone

North Pacific Seasonal Tropical Area, Tropical Mar 1 to June 30 and Nov 1 to Nov 30, Summer Jul 1 to Oct 31 and Dec 1 to Feb 28/29.

Tides

Range 1.7m (spring), 0.7 (neaps).

Deepest first. The draught is the largest any of the terminal's berths states; a dash means the source gives none.

Traffic schemes and VTS

REPORTING POINTS: See amendments to TSS above.

Vessels should report on passing the following reporting points including Name, Position, Course, Speed, ETA at Lt buoy SF (37°45.0'N 122°41.5'W) or ETA at outermost reporting point.

Vessels must maintain a listening watch on VHF Ch 13 and 14 within the Inshore sector.

Tugs

Tugs are available from a number of operators.

Charts and publications

BA 588, 591, 4914. Admiralty Pilot NP8, NP286(5).

ETA and pre-arrival notices

Vessels arriving in first US port: Please see country information.

Communications

San Francisco Bar Pilots, Tel: +1 415 362 5436, Email: [email protected].

Documents

Please see country information for details of documentation requirements.

Health

No action initiated unless there is illness onboard.

Ship Sanitation Control Certificates: Please see country information.

The US Public Health Service (USPHS) has legal regulatory responsibility to prevent the introduction, transmission, and spread of communicable disease from foreign countries into the United States.

Foreign Quarantine Regulations require that the Master of a ship, destined for a US port, shall report immediately to the USPHS quarantine station at, or nearest to, the port at which the ship will arrive the occurrence onboard, of any death or illness among passengers or crew (including those who have disembarked or have been removed) during the 15 day period preceding the date of expected arrival or during the period since departure from a US port whichever period of time is shorter.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA):

The US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) operates agricultural inspection facilities in the Golden Gate region to ensure that agricultural products being imported into or exported from the United States do not contain harmful animal and plant pests. Inspections are conducted by APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine officers.

All ships, aircraft, cargo, baggage and passengers entering the Golden Gate Region from countries that have pests not known to exist in the continental United States, must be inspected thoroughly for prohibited agricultural materials that could contain foreign animal and plant pests. The ship will be held in quarantine until inspected and if necessary, treated under APHIS supervision.

APHIS also regulates the proper storage and disposal of garbage from international vessels.

Some APHIS inspectors travel overseas at the exporter's expense to supervise agricultural commodity inspections and treatments in foreign countries. This pre-inspection expedites imports and reduces the risk of importing pests and diseases.

APHIS also oversees the issue off Federal Phytosanitary Certificates, which shows that American agricultural products have been inspected and, if necessary, treated for certain pests prior to export to a foreign country. An APHIS certified inspector usually examines these shipments at the US packing house. Although Phytosanitary Certificates cannot guarantee that US products will be allowed into a foreign country, they ensure that the products comply with each country's individual quarantine regulations.

Customs and immigration

US Immigration will board all vessels upon berthing or arrival at first anchorage for crew inspection.

A vessel arriving from another US port and where the crew have already been cleared, then nothing is required from the vessel by US Immigration.

If a vessel is going to make crew changes then special shore passes and information regarding departing crew members must be pre-arranged with US Immigration. All arriving and departing crew flight information must be forwarded to the local agents office as soon as possible to enable pre-arrangement of immigration formalities for repatriation.

US Customs will usually not board a vessel on arrival and the usual customs paper work will be handled by the agent. Forms required to be completed are the 1300 series US Customs Forms. These consist of three copies each of US Forms 1300, 1301, 1303 and 1304. The 1300 is the Master's Oath of Entry; 1301 is the General Declaration; 1303 for Crews Effects and the 1304 is for Ships Stores and Provisions. Also required are 5 copies of Immigration Form I-418 Crew List. IMO Forms are not acceptable by US Customs and Immigration. If a vessel requires blank forms agents will be able to supply them.

If a vessel is arriving to discharge cargo, US Customs will also require a complete manifest of all cargo to be discharged in the San Francisco Bay District and any other US ports, preferably on US Customs Form 1302.

Notices and regulations

Coastguard Vessel Inspection: Please see country information.

Port State Control here: US Coast Guard.

Foreign ships are examined by the US Coast Guard. File the Advance Notice of Arrival 96 hours ahead (33 CFR 160).

ISPS

ISPS Designated Authority: United States Coast Guard, Office of Compliance. Address: 2100 Second St, SW, Washington DC, 20593, USA. Tel: +1 202 267 2978. Fax: +1 202 267 4858. Email: [email protected]. For further ISPS information see IMO website http://www2.imo.org/ISPSCode.

Repairs

Full service repairs available at Hunters Point Shipyard.

Dry docks

San Francisco floating drydock, length 274m, lifting capacity 65,000t, can accommodate vessels of LOA 289m, draught 11.5m, 230,000SDWT.

Largest graving dock, length 333m.

Bunkers, water and stores

Fresh water: Available.

Bunkering: All grades of fuel and lubricants available from a number of oil companies.

Stores: Available.

Medical

A number of hospitals and clinics in the city.

Transport

Nearest airport: San Francisco International Airport, 8km.

Nearest railway: A port railway belt system links the berths with the 2 major railroads that serve the region.

Working hours

Throughout 24 hours in 3 shifts.

Where it is

San Francisco is located on the W seaboard of the US in the State of California.

The port

The port is situated inside the well protected natural harbour of San Francisco Bay. See separate entries for Oakland, Redwood City, Richmond, Sacramento and Stockton. Access to the berths is gained from the Pacific Ocean via passage beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for some berths. The port is equipped to handle all manner of cargoes and a regular port of call for cruise vessels, container vessels and also handling considerable amounts of general cargo and bulk cargo. A total of 35 berths with depths up to 12.2m are available for commercial traffic plus a number of fishing vessel berths.

Traffic

Approx 2,400,000t of cargo, 110 vessels and 375,000 passengers handled annually.

Where does the pilot board at San Francisco?

The pilot boards at San Francisco, 37°43.9′N 122°41.6′W.

What time zone is San Francisco in?

Local time at San Francisco is UTC−8. Clocks go to UTC−7 on 14 Mar 2027. Back to UTC−8 on 7 Nov 2027.

What is the water density at San Francisco?

1025.

Which load line zone is San Francisco in?

North Pacific Seasonal Tropical Area, Tropical Mar 1 to June 30 and Nov 1 to Nov 30, Summer Jul 1 to Oct 31 and Dec 1 to Feb 28/29.

Who carries out Port State Control at San Francisco?

Port State Control at San Francisco: US Coast Guard.

What is the UN/LOCODE of San Francisco?

The UN/LOCODE of San Francisco is USSFO.

What crews who called at San Francisco say: pilot boarding, the agent's papers, inspections, shore leave. Each tip is shown with the writer's rank and ship type, and an AI summary sits on top once there are three or more.

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