Puget Sound Pilot Shortage

TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA

"By law, the pilots use their local knowledge to guide ships into the Sound from Port Angeles and back out from Washington ports. But in the past several months a combination of retirements, injuries and an increasing number of ships calling on Washington ports has led to a shortage of these skilled guides. The shortage has delayed ships as they wait for pilots to arrive, and required pilots to regularly work during their scheduled time off."