Vessel Agents Play Key Role in Soybean Export Chain

Barrett Bass has an interesting job. Based in the Pacific Northwest for Blue Water Shipping Company, Bass and the company arrange port logistics for cargo ships coming to the U.S.

“We are responsible for coordinating everything that ship might need from ordering pilots, tugboats, lines, helping with the crew change, ensuring the ship gets to the appropriate dock at the appropriate time and loads its appropriate amount of cargo timely and cost efficiently,” Bass told the South Dakota Soybean Network at the Port of Grays Harbor in Washington.

Among the facts capturing the attention of South Dakota soybean farmers who Bass was addressing is that ships’ five to seven cargo holds – each with the capacity of an entire unit train of grain – have to be thoroughly cleaned before outgoing soybeans can be loaded for export.

“The sheer size of these cargo holds that these ship's crews are responsible for cleaning is quite large and oftentimes very high up,” said Bass. “So, in the event that the ship's crew can't do it because of sheer capability and safety reasons, oftentimes the [vessel] agent will be hired to hire out a professional shoreside cleaning company to aid the ship's crew in cleaning those cargo holds.”

It’s required that ships entering U.S. waterways be piloted by local boat pilots. These specialized pilots are placed by helicopter or pilot boats on moving ships. The local pilot takes temporary command of the vessel until it’s safely where it needs to be at its port. Vessel agents, such as those with Barrett Bass’s Blue Water Shipping, see that a local pilot meets the incoming ship.

“So these local pilots do this day in and day out; pilot these waters. They're specifically trained on these waters. They know the current patterns. They know shifts and currents. They know where the sandbars are, et cetera, et cetera,” Barrett explained. “And they're also trained at making these transitions from helicopter to boat. So, while it is a dangerous job, these are very well practiced and trained pilots.”