Harbor Safety Committee of the San Francisco Bay Region Established by state law to prevent oil spills in San Francisco Bay by planning “for the safe navigation and operation of tankers, barges, and other vessels…encompassin g all vessel traffic within the harbor.”

The California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) is the lead agency for this effort, and appoints the Harbor Safety Committee members.

The 21-member HSC Includes Representatives of : Ports of Benicia, Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco Tanker and marine oil terminal operators Dry cargo operators Barge and Tug operators Ferry operators S. F. bar pilots Pleasure boat operators Labor organization Environmental organization U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port U. S. Army Corps of Engineers NOAA BCDC

A forum for maritime community and state and federal agencies to discuss and recommend measures to prevent maritime accidents.

The Committee’s area of concern extends a distance of 100 miles, from the San Francisco lighted horn buoy twelve miles offshore, to the Ports of Stockton and Sacramento.

San Francisco Bay Harbor Traffic Fourth busiest container cargo port in the U.S. Among the busiest petroleum ports in the country: nearly 800 tankers carry petroleum and petroleum products into the Bay each year 85,000 commuter ferry trips per year, carrying over one million passengers 20,000 registered recreational boaters in the Bay Area, plus an uncounted number involved in paddle sports and other water activities

Members of the Harbor Safety Committee are participating in planning the Bay Area Water Trail for kayaks and other non-motorized small boats. Their expertise and involvement ensures that the trail will promote increased navigational safety for trail users and all vessels.

Harbor Safety Committee Work Groups Tug Escorts: Required for loaded oil tankers transiting the Bay Navigation: Incidents and near-misses Ferries : Safe operations Prevention through People : Recreational boating safety PORTS : Physical Oceanographic Real Time System (Tide, current and wind data every six minutes) Ad hoc work groups as needed to study individual issues